Harry Potter And The Rose Of Miztgral
by lovelyloey
Summary: COMPLETE: Features a Harry and Draco duo to fight against Voldemort and Harry understands the true powers of the Rose of Miztgral, as well as true friendship and love. Slash; RonHermione, HarryDraco.
1. Introduction

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Explanations for new terms/spells/magical items are at post-fic author's notes. I used to post this at Fictionalley but their slow publishing caused me to switch here, where I think there's more freedom and more readers. Please review and tell me what you think about this fic. Thank you very much .

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"Lumos." Harry tiptoed down the corridor, clutching the Marauder's Map. It was two in the morning and Hogwarts was asleep. Harry needed to go to Hagrid's and the night was the only time he could get away from the watching eyes of Snape.

"Well well, look who's out at night." The light from Harry's wand was reflected by a head of blond. "Being the great Harry Potter does not give you the right to wander around the castle at night. And typically dumb of you, forgetting your invisibility cloak."

"Get out of my way." Harry scowled.

"Tsk tsk. Is that the way to talk to me, Potter?" Malfoy paid special care in saying Harry's name. He just enjoys the way it sounded when one places excess emphasis on the "t".

"And what do **you** think you are doing out here in the middle of the night, Malfoy?"

"That, is none of your business. I could call Filch over, or your could tell me what's up your stinky sleeves." Malfoy smirked. Having spent the past seven years fighting with Harry, Malfoy has still gotten the better hand, being the outspoken one, being the influential one, being the scheming one.

"I'm paying Hagrid a visit. Now, will you leave me alone?"

"Gross. Must be to feed some flobberworm again. Or that foul three-headed dog of his. Let's not forget that overgrown chicken that caused me to..." Malfoy had to go on and on when it came to putting down everything Harry liked. He never gave up a chance to insult and humiliate Hermoine and Ron.

Harry sneaked a peak at the Marauder's Map. "Duck! Filch's coming this way!" Not awaring that he just pulled his arch enemy along with him to hide in the nearest room.

"Ouch!" Exclaimed Malfoy as he hit the floor. "I'll get you for that, you.."

"Keep it down!" Harry whispered. Filch's footsteps were heard. He evidently just passed the room. Then, Harry stopped choking Malfoy. He **had **to stop him from making a sound.

"You imbecilic scum! You choked me! I could have died! You ..." croaked Malfoy, still recovering from the choke. With what little breath he had, he took out his wand and shouted "_Flipendo_".

"_Expelliarmus_!" Harry disarmed Malfoy. "I had to do that to stop you from making a sound! I wouldn't want to get caught by Filch, especially when I'm with you!"

"But did you have to choke me? Now give me back my wand, you scum! I'm going to Dumbledore first thing in the morning!" Malfoy stood up and rearranged himself.

"Whatever. I've got important things to attend to." Harry chucked Malfoy's wand on the floor and stomped out of the room, continuing his journey to Hagrid's.

"Wait up!" Malfoy shouted.

Harry stopped in his track and turned around. "Now what?"

"It just occurred to me that I have yet dismissed you from my sight. Now I want to go to Hagrid's with you." Malfoy smirked.

"And I thought you were afraid that some overgrown chicken would sharpen his claws against your puny body?"

"Me, afraid? It's just that I won't want to kill another creature, gives me the creeps how you and the Weasel couple can weep louder than the cries of that foul chicken. I just wanted to check if Hagrid's been keeping some dragons secretly. Can't wait to catch him in the act and get him sacked."

"He is not keeping dragons for goodness sakes! Will you just get off my back?" Harry stomped off in the darkness. He did not even bother to illuminate his path. Malfoy, being typically busybody, followed Harry to Hagrid's.

"What is **he** doing here?" Ron exclaimed when Harry appeared at Hagrid's with Malfoy lingering behind.

"Well, we certainly have a crowd here. I'm here to see what you nasty Gryffindors have behind your backs."

"We certainly don't welcome you, Malfoy. Now get out of this place, lest I _morbus affero_ (give sickness) you!" Hermione stood up, along with Ron, and shouted at Malfoy.

"Mudblood! Irk! You have no right to talk to me! I have every right to be here, this is Hogwarts property!" Malfoy scowled.

"Actually this is my hut and I've been paying my mortgage to Dumbledore for the past years and if you don't mind I'd like to resume to our discussions. And I would like you to leave." Replied Hagrid, plainly. Ever since the incident with Buckbeak, Hagrid never really liked Malfoy anymore.

"No, I'm staying where I am. Now, what discussion? Means to overgrow more chickens? To let loose your three-headed dog on the Hufflepuffs?" Malfoy stepped into the hut and took a seat near the window.

"Malfoy. You won't like very much what I'm going to do to you." Hermoine gave a bleak smile and without warning, she cast the _morbus affero_ curse on Malfoy. The already pale Malfoy turned even more pale, almost translucent compared to the black of his robe. His pink lips turn pale and parched and he looked as though he was going to be sick. He ran towards the window and emptied his supper on Hagrid's window box.

"Good one Hermione! Then again you should have made him puke slugs. Still gives me the shudders all these years."

"You filthy mudblood! I puke will get you for this!" Malfoy's knees buckled and he could barely stand. His face was now pink, for he was running a temperature. The _morbus affero_ curse was deadly if not lifted within 48 hours. But Hermione thought she would teach Malfoy a lesson for good.

"_medicorious._" Harry healed Malfoy. Malfoy gradually returned to health, though still weak. "Now that I've healed you and saved your life, please get out of here. You won't want us to turn nasty."

"Fine. I'm going to Dumbledore now and tell him that you tried to kill me, twice! Let's see what will save you then!" Malfoy stood up and headed for the exit when he bumped into the Professor.

"I overheard that you wanted to see me, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Dumbledore still towered over Malfoy, despite Malfoy having grown much over the years.

"Professor, he was causing us trouble, so Hermione had to cast the illness curse on him. It wasn't intentional!" Ron stammered turned pink at the sight of the Professor.

"Well Miss Granger, I would suggest you exercise something less deadly but more ghastly the next time round." The Professor winked at Hermione and lumbered into the hut. "Now run along Mr. Malfoy. I would just pretend that I didn't see you wandering around in the middle of the night and you would return to your dormitory this instant."

"Fine. I'll leave your little company, bunch of depraves." Malfoy strutted, despite his legs still being wobbly after all that throwing up of his supper, and with any luck, his dinner.

"Professor, now we can get down to business." Hermione and company resumed their seats and Hagrid served tea.

"Regarding Lucius. Now, how should we break news to Draco? I've done my best in trying to conceal the news from him, but banning all copies from the Daily Prophet from the school and keeping him out of the authorities' reach is all I can do. This weekend he will be going to Hogsmeade and there's nothing I can do there. He is bound to hear of Lucius there."

"Can we not stop him from going there, Professor?" Suggested Ron.

"No, we can't. Besides, there's lots of speculation in the different houses regarding the missing Daily Prophets. The Ravenclaws think that it's the abdication of the publishers, the Hufflepuffs think that the owls have all gone senile, the Gryffindors think that it's the Slytherins who stole the papers and the Slytherins, being Slytherins felt that it was because the Daily Prophet decided to merge with Playwizards that school has banned the publications. No one has received news about Lucius' illness yet. We've got to think of ways to keep Malfoy in the dark." Hermione, being herself, had to give Dumbledore a detailed analysis of the things that had been going on.

The fact is, Lucius Malfoy is dying. The cause is unknown. It is unlike anything the wizarding world has seen. News of this new disease is published in all papers, big and small, everyone is talking about it. The only place in oblivion is Hogwarts. Dumbledore feels that the time is not right for Draco to know about it.

"Actually Professor, I am beginning to feel that what Mr. Malfoy has contracted... it's a Muggle disease." Harry volunteered. "After hearing about the symptoms he had, I remembered reading something alike in a muggle book when I was at the Dursleys. I think he has caught something known as hepatic encephalopathy. I hope I'm wrong but this is serious. He would fall into long term coma if he does not receive treatment."

"Hepatic what? Harry, I don't know of anyone who knows of something that I don't. How could you even remember all that?" Hermione couldn't help it, but question Harry. She was appalled that Harry read so widely.

"I had a deep impression of it because apparently one of the Dursley's relative contracted it. And I was locked up for two months just for saying that Dudley would contract it if he kept eating MacDonald's. Anyway, this disease is lethal. Let's just hope I'm wrong."

"A muggle disease that the wizarding haven't heard of! What great shock! Oh Merlin, what should we do?" Ron exclaimed.

"He needs a Muggle doctor. Or he would become a vegetable." Harry explained, knowing perfectly well that it would be against the law, or at least the Malfoy code of Conduct to seek help of the Muggles.

"A vegetable? And I thought there's only animagus!" said Ron, with that typical shocked look on him.

"No, a vegetable in Muggle terms mean someone who is in a coma and is incapable of mental activities, kept alive merely by a life support machine. In other words, Lucius Malfoy is turning into an idiot." Hermione explained.

"Now, Harry, do not breathe a word about this to anyone, especially those reports, whom I expect to hang around in Hogsmeade this weekend. I've decided to cancel the Hogsmeade trip. We won't want more rumours going on in school. Regarding this disease, I'd make a trip down to the Apothecary Ministry and see what they have to say. And Hagrid, I would need you to arrange for activities for the students. And as for the three of you, I'm sure Hagrid would agree with me that it's time for you to return to your dormitories." The Professor stood up and ushered the trio out of the hut. As they exited, Harry saw a glint of silver disappear under what seems like a hood.

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morbus affero: A spell that causes sickness in one. Deadly if not lifted within 48 hours.  



	2. Coming Clean

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new term/spells/magical item are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

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"Hermione, I think Malfoy overheard our conversation." Harry spoke, with seriousness as the trio made their way back to their dormitories. Their footsteps echoed along the hallway and Ron, who was intently studying the Marauder's Map, did not catch what Harry said.

"What? Are you serious?" replied Hermione.

"Yes. When we came out of the hut, I saw this blond head. He disappeared quickly though." Harry stopped suddenly. "Shh. Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" enquired Hermione.

"I think... I think I hear someone weeping! Is it Moaning Myrtle?" Ron chattered as he mentioned her name. Not only was he afraid of offending her, he was equally afraid of meeting her.

"She's in the loo, not floating around in the hallways scaring people in the middle of the night," Hermione just had to retort Ron on that. It is a wonder to many as to why the both of them became an item. Harry thought that they complemented each other in terms of their strengths and weaknesses and Ginny thinks it's because Hermione loves red hair.

Meanwhile, Harry noticed that those cries resembled a particular someone he knew. Draco Malfoy. "Maybe it's just our imagination. Tell you what, you two run along, I've got to go back to Hagrid's. Left my wand there." Harry felt this need to go check up on Malfoy, to see if he was all right. After all, Harry knew that Draco had overheard about his father's plight.

"Really? All right, see you back at the dorm then. Here, take the map, we're almost there. Filch is a mile away." Ron handed Harry the map and walked off with Hermione. Scanning the map, Harry found Malfoy near the stairway leading to the Astronomy Tower. _I should go see if he's all right. At the very most, I'll get chided by him. _Harry gathered his courage and made his way to the tower.

Draco Malfoy was sitting on a step, hugging his knees and crying into his cloak. The moonlight that shone in through the window cast a light upon his cheeks, stricken with tears. Harry stood where he was and enquired about him. "Are you all right?"

"Go away. Leave me alone." Malfoy sounded weak and hoarse. He pulled his hood over his head and turned his body to back face Harry. He was evidently trying to hide his tears.

"You overheard what we said, did you? I'm sorry for what that has happened, but please, be strong. Don't cry." Harry pleaded. He hated it when people cry, for it always stabs him in the heart, especially when he knows that there's nothing that can be done to better the situation. He could feel that familiar heart-wrenching ache, even if the one crying was his arch enemy.

"Who says I'm crying? Get lost before I attack, Potter." Malfoy stood up and drew out his wand. Clenching it so tightly his knuckles turned white, Malfoy angled the wand at Harry point blank. Nevertheless, Harry noticed the tiny shivers of his arm and shoulders.

"Please, Draco. I know how it feels. You've just got to be strong. It's not going to be easy but you have to be strong."

"No. You don't understand. And you will never understand. Just bugger off!" Malfoy dropped his arm and scooted off. Harry felt dejected. All the thoughts of how Draco used to torture and traumatize him just didn't matter anymore. What mattered now is how he is going to help Draco overcome this bad patch.

Harry lied down on his bed, but could not fall asleep. "Hey Ron," Harry turned to face Ron, who sleeps on the bunk next to his. "What do you think will happen to Malfoy if he hears about this?"

"Huh? I don't know. All I know is that once his followers hear about this, that's the time we hear of the dissolution of his fan club." Ron replied, sounding tired and sleepy.

"I see. How would you feel then? Are you going to be happy about it?"

"I don't know. It's sure fun to see Draco Malfoy having to carry his own books without silly Slytherin girls kissing the ground he walks upon."

Harry was not surprised to hear Ron speak this way. The way he had tormented Ron all these years, it's no doubt Ron hated him. But now that the situation has changed, Harry wondered if he could help Malfoy without souring his relationship with Ron. He knew, of course that Ron would never agree to him helping Draco Malfoy. Not intending to probe further, for there was no need to, Harry told Ron to turn in while he himself spent the rest of the night trying to get Draco Malfoy out of his mind.

The next day, Professor Dumbledore announced the canceling of their Hogsmeade weekend in the Great Hall. A minor commotion broke out, the Slytherins were protesting against it. Those that could not contain their anger stood up and waved their arms around in frenzy, and as Harry turned around to look at Malfoy, he saw him, sitting at the table, sipping his black coffee quietly. Harry felt that familiar misery descend upon him, and for that moment, he felt as though the Dementors were here again. He thought he would never be happy again. Malfoy caught his stare, but didn't care much about it. _If it was the old Malfoy, he would have attempted to hex me, _thought Harry. As he returned to his breakfast, Hermione could not help it but noticed how downcast he looked. In her heart, she had the slightest idea as to why.

"Harry, I need to talk to you. I'll meet you in the Owlery after my Arithmancy class." Hermione whispered to Harry on the way to class. She had to speak to him and clear her doubts about what's going on.

During Divinations, Ron couldn't help but predict betrayal in the near future. Over the years he has become quite proficient at crystal ball gazing; even Professor Tralawney felt the Diviner aura in him. Ron had wanted to confide in Harry about this disturbing divination, but Harry seemed preoccupied and listless. The last time Ron had seen Harry this way was in fourth year, when he was very much infatuated with Cho. When Divination ended, Ron noticed Harry walking in the direction of the Owlery. And when he could not find Hermione anywhere, he was beginning to sense the divination coming sooner than expected.

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Nothing to declare for this chapter. Please review! 


	3. Rage Fuels A Fight

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new term/spells/magical item are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

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At the Owlery, Harry met up with Hermione. For the whole Divination class, Harry was preoccupied with the thoughts of what Hermione was going to say. It was more than a mutual understanding between the two of them that neither party was ignorant of what was going on. There was no need for further introduction or beating around the bush.

"Harry," a seemingly flustered Hermione rushed in. "Tell me that Malfoy doesn't know about his father." Harry did not reply. That distraught look on his face gave it all away. Harry was never particularly good at concealing his emotions, not like Hermione. Not like Draco Malfoy.

Hermione heaved a sigh. The both of them stood there in an uncomfortable silence.

"He seems to be running away from it." Harry broke the silence.

"What should we do?" Hermione asked. The mental images of snobbish, tyrannical Draco Malfoy lost and fallen gave Hermione the jitters. She never expected things to turn out this way. She always thought Malfoy hated Lucius and would never give a hoot whether he was alive or not.

"I don't know. I tried to talk to him last night but he just..." Harry broke into an uncontrolled sob. He tried hard to hold those tears back, but he couldn't help it anymore. How helpless Draco seemed the previous night, how he was shivering uncontrollably, how his eyes reflected desolation this morning.

"Oh Harry..." Hermione went up to him and cleaned the tears off his cheek.

"There's so little I can do. How I wish I could help him, but I just can't. And Ron... he..." Harry found it hard to say that Ron doesn't understand, not in front of Hermione. The pair was nearly inseparable, and Harry would never try to sow discord between them.

"I know, Ron doesn't understand." Such sensitivity and wisdom could only come from Hermione. She never failed to see what was in Harry's mind. Hermione went over and hugged the sobbing boy and Harry rested his head upon her shoulders. Suddenly, a shuffle at the doorway broke them apart.

"_Ron doesn't understand..." _ This phrase kept ringing in Ron's head. The sight of Hermione hugging Harry and that illicit meeting in the Owlery... All these were driving Ron crazy. He ran through the hallways, down the stairs, he ran till he felt as though his lungs were bursting.

Ron went down by the lake and sat there. He felt outraged and betrayed. Whipping out his wand, he began to _exarescio _the grass. The grass then began to wither and dry up, just as though Death had just passed by. Soon, Ron was sitting amidst a significantly large area of arid land. But his anger was not all vented. Jealousy rode on him, and bitterness plagued him. _The boy who lived, the famous Harry Potter, the supposed selfless friend...a bunch of lies! _Ron picked up a stone and threw it into the lake. Spitefully, he started to throw _bombardment charms_ at the lake. Waves of explosions were sent throughout the water, the force so great that fishes were thrown around in the air.

"_Finite Incantum_!" Professor's McGonagall's voice boomed in Ron's ears. The bombardment stopped and Ron turned around and faced the Professor. "What do you think you are doing, Mr. Weasley? Such recalcitrance! Fifty points from Gryffindor!"

"Fine! Take everything away! I bet Harry Potter can gain it all back by doing some selfless good deed again!" Ron stomped off without even waiting to hear more lecturing from the Professor. Ron's blood boiled at the thought of Harry, how he has betrayed him.

Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione were rushing around in school looking for Ron. Harry decided to try his luck at Divination classroom. Arriving at the landing, Harry asked the stairs to be let down, as usual. Ascending silvery ladder, Harry entered the room. And he was not alone. At one of the tables sat Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be shuffling a deck of _Abrivian Tarot_. Malfoy noticed Harry's presence and a smirk appeared on his face. "Looking for Trelawney for a fling? Too bad, she just left."

"I'm not here to pick a fight. Have you seen Ron?" Harry asked.

"That redhead? Nah, you won't catch me in the same room as him." Draco replied nonchalantly and returned to his cards. He was even losing his touch at insulting the Gryffindor.

"Fine." Harry could not care more to argue with Draco at this point in time.

"Sit." Draco said in a commandeering voice.

As if not by his own will, Harry sat down across Draco at the table. Draco gave a malicious grin and started to cut the deck. Apart from Ron, Draco was one of Trelawney's favourite students, for she claims that he has an open heart and an open mind to see into the future. Draco majors in Tarot cards, while Ron does Crystal ball. Draco did a classic _Aurelius spread_. As he laid down each card with utmost concentration, he noticed Harry's eyes locked on his hand, following his every movement.

"Why, are you afraid that I will attempt to switch the cards? Or are you afraid that the Grim will appear? Don't worry, there's no Grim in tarot, just Death..." Draco chuckled. He was enjoying himself teasing Potter. Harry didn't think the joke was funny, for the Grim is really something that you would never want to get in any form of divination. Harry was reminded of his close encounter with death in Year 3, and that intense fear of the Dementors. Sure, he was no longer afraid for he is now good at the Patronum charm. Draco deliberated the revelations of the cards, taking his time at each card. When he came to the third card, he was disappointed. Not by the content, but the lack of appropriate response from Harry, for the third card was Death. Harry knew very well that in Tarot, death need not necessarily mean the physical death, though it carried the meaning of an end. The fourth card was slightly more encouraging, it was the Lovers. By the end of the nine cards involved in a Aurelius spread, Draco gave his analysis.

"Dear dear Potter, there will be an end to some relationships. Yet Merlin is merciful to you, for he bestows you a new beginning. You'll get lucky in love, but at the same time, in exchange for some of the people closest to you. Think Weasels. These encounters are beyond your control for you have much more cards from the Major Arcana than the minor ones. Potter, be careful. Be really careful." Draco said with a smirk on his face, his lips curling in such a way Harry felt like hexing him there and then. Harry didn't care what he was said, for he was just humouring the Slytherin by giving him a chance to be deriding. Harry didn't know was that this reading had been real and not just some prank of Draco.

"You're done then?" Harry stood up and left the table, leaving Draco there. Draco was mildly amused by the results of the reading and quite shocked at the appearance of the Death, for it added much dramatic effect to the reading. Albeit he had fun, Draco had this nagging feeling at the back of his head telling him that Harry is going to get into some trouble. For the past years, Draco has had so many of these occasions where he had to rationalize with himself. All he lacked was the talking part before he became schizophrenic.

Harry went back to Gryffindor common room, hoping that Ron would already have returned. As he passed the Fat Lady, he saw the familiar head of red sitting next to the fireplace.

"Ron! You're back! Where have you been?" Harry exclaimed with much enthusiasm and surprise.

"Go away. Go back to your little love 'nest' if you need to." Ron replied bitterly.

"Ron, what are you talking about? Hermione and I spent so much time looking for you around the castle and this is all you can say?" Harry was becoming irritated at Ron. All these years, Ron has been acting immature, throwing tantrums as and when he likes, speaking his mind and getting into trouble. At this point, Hermione entered the room, but to the oblivion of the two Gryffindors.

"Hermione and I... how good it sounds together, doesn't it? Take her if you want but keep me informed all right? I didn't expect great noble Harry Potter to be a sneaky little thief." Ron was clearly insinuating the gross detest of seeing Potter meeting Hermione in secret. Hermione, who heard all that, broke down into tears and started to wheeze. She never thought Ron would have such little faith in her.

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about, Ron Weasley? Are you out of your puny mind? Are you clearly accusing me of double crossing you?" Hermione stepped in and started to scream at Ron.

"Now that you have admitted it yourself, yes, you are clearly double crossing me!" Ron shouted. His voice was getting croaky, for he was equally worked up as Granger. A tight slap flew across Ron's freckled cheek. Hermione then kicked him hard in the shin and ran off. Unlike their usual quarrels where Ron would run after her and try to make up, Ron stormed off the common room. He slammed the door so hard that the Fat Lady had a fright. Harry stood affix at his spot, not knowing what to do.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy planned his escape from Hogwarts.

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exarescio: To dehydrate; to dry. Used extensively at the laundrettes and for quick drying.  
Abrivian tarot: A deck that Draco likes to use. Note: Abrivian is not a word.  
Aurelius spread: A tarot deck coined by me, consist of 9 nine cards, 8 in a octagon, the ninth in the center.  



	4. The Book Of Eclairement

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new term/spells/magical item are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

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At the Slytherin castle, Draco paced about his dormitory. He had considered the option of marching straight up to Professor Dumbledore and demand for a break to go home, but he knew the Professor would never agree to such an arrangement. And by that he would have drawn more attention to himself, making it even more difficult for him to escape. He drew out his quill and attempted to pen a letter to his mother. "_No, that would be futile. Dumbledore must have banned all owl activities._" Devestated, Malfoy tore up the parchment and his quill flew halfway across the room, hitting Crabbe.

"Hey, what was that for!" Crabbe yelled as he soothed the broken skin caused by the quill nib.

"Just shut your gap, will you!" Malfoy rose and left the room hastily. He ran out of the dungeon and walked about the castle aimlessly. Not noticing where he was going, Malfoy found himself near the Gryffindor tower. He was about to turn around when he bumped into a figure. It was none other than the worked up Ron who left the room after a fight with Hermione and Harry.

"Watch it Malfoy!" Ron scowled at Draco. Ron gave Draco a shove and the latter fell backwards.

"What was that for Weasel? Take your filthy hands off me!" Draco picked himself up and sneered at Ron. Given another time and place, Malfoy would just have gotten his Slytherin sidekicks to wallop Ron. Today, Draco was by himself, and likely on the losing end, for he was thinner and shorter than Ron. Without considering his position, Draco lunged and Ron and attempted to knock him down. He drove his fists hard into Ron's face, while the latter gave the Slytherin a few hard kicks. The racket they created as their knocked over vases and shelves apparently attracted the attention of Professor Snape, who happened to be nearby.

"_Impedimenta!_" Snape casted the charm to stop the two from tearing each other's lungs out. The two broke apart instantaneously and fell hard on the floor. "Both of you! Fighting in the hallway! Fifty points off each house and detention classes for both of you!" Snape vociferated at the two. "Mr. Malfoy! I expect better conduct out of you and I trust that you will not touch the Gryffindors again!" Snape stared at Malfoy and stomped off. The two, bruised and wounded, glared at each other. Malfoy limped off, scowling at no one in particular.

"Ron." A voice called out meekly. "Are you all right?" Hermione rushed forward with a hankerchief and tried to dab the blood off Ron's lips. Yet Ron raised his arm to block her advance.

"Go away. I don't need your pity." Ron spat.

"Ron. Listen to me." Hermione stood there, hurt. She withdrew her hand and held them by her side, awkwardly. "Ron. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have screamed at you just now. It was my entire fault. I should have told you about the meeting with Harry. Trust me; it is not what you think it is. We merely met to discuss about Malfoy."

The couple remained silent for a considerable amount of time. Ron was deep in thought, trying to calm himself down, while Hermione bit her lips, trying to fight back her tears.

"Why didn't you want to include me in the discussion?" Ron broke the silence, and finally accepted Hermione's explanations. Upon hearing this, Hermione looked up at Ron and smiled.

"We thought... we shouldn't bother you. Besides, Harry and I know that you would never agree to help Malfoy." Hermione explained.

"So you thought I would never understand? Tell me, all these years, have I been that unreasonable? I mean, sure, I hate Malfoy, but if my dearest friend and my dearest love wants to help him, I'll step aside. Just don't leave me out of your life again, all right?" With that, Ron step forward and embraced Hermione. Hermione returned the hug and both of them made up. They returned to the Gryffindor common room hand-in-hand.

Harry was standing at the doorway, and upon their entrance, he gave the couple a great big smile. Ron gave his dearest friend a hug, and the three was a trio again.

As Malfoy limped back to his dormitory, he met Professor Dumbledore along the way.

"Mr. Malfoy? Are you sure you don't require Madam Pomfrey's attention on those injuries?" the Professor asked benevolently. He did not care to enquire the cause of those bruises, for he had in his mind the very idea how.

"No, Professor. I won't die from these." Malfoy never really respected Dumbledore, calling him Mudblood-loving behind his back.

"In that case, I thought you would like a cup of tea in my room." The Professor guided Malfoy towards his office. The two walked to the gargoyle on the second floor and uncovered the secret passage. "_praedulcis mlkis", _The Professor gave his password and the two went up the stairs.

In the room, Malfoy sat himself down on a chair by the window and stared out of it. He did not wish to see the seemingly malicious grin on the Sorting Hat, nor the exceedingly fanciful chicken.

"Mr. Malfoy," the Professor started, "I guess you know perfectly well the reason behind this meeting." Still back-facing, the Professor fumbled with some scrolls on the stand.

"Professor. Why did you have to keep me in the dark?" Draco spoke in a staccato manner, clearly trying very hard to contain his anger.

"Mr. Malfoy, I see no point in us trying to convince you with any of our reasons. Perhaps you would have a clearer idea after reading this." The Professor handed Malfoy a letter and a thickly bound book. Draco held this quizzical look on his face, and the professor spoke again. "May it clear your doubt, and may this meeting be just between you and me. And I suppose you would want to read those in the comfort of your own dormitories." With that, Draco was dismissed and he made his way back to the dormitories.

Along the way, Malfoy couldn't help but wonder the implication of his newly inherited wares. The bound book had the distinct Slytherin mark on its leather cover, while secured by golden clasps. The book was covered in dust, whereas the letter seemed relatively recent. Malfoy cleaned up his wounds and got Blaise Zabini to treat him. Zabini was an aspiring medi-wizard, and was well versed in healing. Then Malfoy settled down to read the letter.

"To Draco," the letter read. "The only reason why you are reading this now is that I'm incapable to be present to hand you the _Book of Eclairement_. Do not care too much about my well-being, for I knew that this day would arrive, before you did. The Book of Elcairement is the Malfoy family heirloom. It has been passed down from my grandfather, Raghnall Malfoy, whom, since then, predicted your coming and has penned this book especially for you, that you may, one day, be enlightened. Your grandfather and I have never read this book, as we respect that he has his reasons behind this. I shall hinder you no further, and may you benefit greatly from this book. And do not blame that Mudblood-lover for keeping you from my plight. I asked him to. Your father, Lucius." Draco let the letter slipped. He was in a state of shock, at how Malfoys of many generations before existed, such that he could be born. Never in his life has he been treated with such importance and dignity. As much as Malfoy is elated, he was nonetheless precarious about the book. All the more it looked gothic now. Draco carefully undid the clasp, and the first page was more than awe-inspiring to him. It bore the words, "For Draco Guthrie Malfoy" embossed in gold. Draco never knew he had a middle name, let alone knowing it as Guthrie.

Overcoming the initial shock, Draco flipped the page. Reading the first line, he was strangely befuddled. Before he could continue, a commotion rose in the common room, and the phrase "disgusting Gryffindor" caught his ear.

* * *

Book of Eclairement: Book of Enlightenment. Eclairement is French (I think.).  



	5. I Do Care For You

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new term/spells/magical item are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

* * *

Harry had broken into the Slytherin common room. He just felt this need to see if Draco was all right, after Ron informed him of their fight along the hallway earlier. It was not as though Harry was carrying a torch for Draco, but he keeps hearing this voice telling him whenever Draco ran into trouble. He had overheard the Slytherin password from Pansy Parkinson earlier that day, as he was running round the castle searching for Ron. Despite knowing the adverse consequences of entering the common room, Harry went ahead.

"You disgusting Gryffindor, what are you doing in here?" Millicent Bulstrode snarled at the sight of Potter standing near the entrance of the dungeon. Potter froze, for Millicent could easily trample him to his death.

"I need to see Mal... Draco." Harry stammered. The rest of the occupants in the common room dropped what they were doing and stared at Harry.

"No, you are certainly not allowed in here. Get going lest we throw you out!" Crabbe shouted at Harry. He stood up and moved towards Harry menacingly; flexing his arm and clenching his fist, threatening to give Harry a good beating. Yet Harry was undaunted, he stood where he was and maintained his composure. A few other Slytherin males followed Crabbe's advance on Harry, and all looked tormenting. Seeing Harry's stubbornness and refusal to leave, Crabbe grabbed him by the collar and gave a punch on his nose. The rest of the troop came over and gave Harry punches and kicks in every conceivable place on his body. Harry just could not fight against so many of them. The fight did create a huge commotion in the common room, and Draco was disturbed by all the noise and uproar. He had heard the phrase "digusting Gryffindor", and was mildly amused by the fact that a Gryffindor actually gaining access to the Slytherin dungeon. Draco put down his book and went out to catch the show, or likely, the showdown.

"Potter! What are you doing here? Hey you! Let go of him!" Draco caught sight of the head of messy black hair in the crowd and recognized it as Harry. Upon hearing the voice of the Slytherin Prince, the troop of fighters let go of Potter and Harry fell to the floor. Harry struggled to stand up, supporting himself with one hand and the other hand holding what remained of his spectacles.

"Oh. I came to see if you were all right after that fight with Ron. Now that you're all fine, I guess I better leave." Harry confessed about the purpose of his visit. Draco gave Harry a quizzical look, and folded his arms across his chest. The sight was much of an irony; Harry was considerably badly injured, and yet he's concerned about the well-being of Draco, who happens to be very much well.

"You were concerned about me?" Draco chuckled. "Cut the crap. You needed to know if I was dead, right?" Harry remained silent. He felt hurt as his intentions were misunderstood. He was about to turn and leave when Draco stopped him.

"How do you think I can allow you to go back to your dungeon looking like that? I don't want the Gryffindors to think I extend hospitality as bad as they do. Zabini, I guess you have another casualty to practice on." Draco handed the injured Potter to Zabini, whom after examining Potter, decide to treat him with his personal supply of _nullus contagio, _an ant-infection potion that stung on Harry's open wounds. In an almost instant, Harry was rid of most wounds and bruises. Zabini also restored Harry's badly broken glasses.

"Thanks." Harry said to Zabini, and was quite amazed by his medical skills. "I think I should leave." Harry stood up and made his way to the exit, when again, Draco stopped him.

"You know Parseltongue, don't you? I need to show you something." Draco hissed to Harry, fearing that any other Slytherins come to know about this. Harry nodded, and followed Draco into his room. The Slytherins in the common room were taken aback, but could do nothing more.

Draco recalls that the first line of the book had befuddled him, and he assumed that it was written in Parseltongue, being written by a Slytherin ancestor. Harry starred hard at the passage, and was equally befuddled. He requested the Slytherin badge from Draco, for he needed to look at a snake in order to understand and speak Parseltongue. Even so, he could not understand the strange language that was written in the book.

"I have no idea what this is written in. I don't think it is Parseltongue." Harry gave up trying to decipher the foreign language.

"I see you are not very smart." Draco snorted. "Do you think that Mudblood would know what it is then?" Draco recalled all-knowing Hermione, and thought she could help him with this.

"She is Hermione, not Mudblood." Harry had to correct Draco on that. "We can try. Now let me copy some of these down..." Harry looked around for parchment when Draco slammed the book shut.

"Just bring the whole darn book to her, for goodness' sakes." Draco picked up the book and shoved Harry out of the room. The two left the Slytherin dungeon together, again, nearly causing a mutiny in the common room. They walked down to the Gryffindor dungeon, and the Fat Lady was surprised at the arrival of Draco Malfoy. Harry gave the password, and the two entered the common room. Fotunately, the common room was empty, except for Ron and Hermione, who were attempting to start Potions homework, but could not stop grinning at each other.

Ron, on noticing Draco's presence, rose and shouted, "What are you doing in here?"

"To seduce your girlfriend. Come here Mudblood, I've got something for you." Draco sat himself on one of the couch and motioned for Hermione to sit on his lap. Harry gave a chuckle, in appreciation of one of Draco's vile jokes. Hermione stood up, looking angry.

"Go seduce Bulstrode if you need to." Hermione replied.

"Hermione, actually we need some help on this passage we found." Harry explained, holding the heavy book up. Somehow, when Draco and Harry were walking to the Gryffindor dungeon, they exchanged the load.

"What do you mean 'we', Potter? It's my book!" Draco hissed. He felt the need to clarify, lest misunderstanding occurs. Harry gave a shrug and handed the book to Hermione. Hermione took a look and laughed.

"It's French. Now, now, all classy and snob Draco Malfoy doesn't know French?" Hermione laughed even louder.

"Fine. Whatever. Just tell me what it says." Draco was embarrassed.

"All right, the first line says, 'you are now holding the book of enlightenment, which is written in French.'" Hermione read out. She was well-versed in French that she could translate it to English and vice versa with no effort at all.

"Are you joking? That sounds stupid!" Draco was disappointed, for the first line of the passage seemed so shallow and paltry.

"Let me go on. Hmm.." A thoughtful look came upon Hermione and suddenly she slammed the book shut and started to blush. She shoved the book back at Draco and gave him a disgusted look.

* * *

nullus contagio: Anti-infect potion.  



	6. Watch And Learn

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new term/spells/magical item are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

* * *

"So you mean you're not going to translate the book for me?" Draco was essentially shocked at Hermione's adverse reaction towards the Book of Eclairement.

"Take your stinky book and leave." Hermione demanded, and dared not look Draco in the eyes. Her blush was subsiding, but apparently there was someone else in this room with a red face. Ron stood up; his face was the same colour as his hair. Unlike Hermione, it wasn't out of embarrassment but anger.

"Heard that, Malfoy? Get out!" Ron jostled. Draco, not risking having to come into contact with Ron again, stood up and left without a word. Harry went off after him and the two appeared outside the Gryffindor room again.

"Is there anyone else who knows French?" Draco asked Harry. The latter was seemingly shocked at the lack of fury and snide comments from Draco. Harry shrugged and suggested using the translation charm on the book. At the sound of that, Malfoy laughed and chided Harry, "My dear, dear Potter. If translation charms worked, would I have even asked you for help? Can you get any denser?"

"Let's ask Dumbledore for help then." Harry suggested.

"As usual, Potter? Go to that muggle-lover for every little small problem? I think I'd rather pick up French than to seek help from him." With that, Draco turned away and strutted back to his dormitory. As he walked pass the stained-glass window, light falling in cast different colours on him; red, blue, green. His white blonde hair, sleek against his head, reflected some of that myriad of colours. At that instant, Harry thought he had never seen anything as beautiful as that.

Back at the Gryffindor common room, the two boys pressed Hermione for the content of the book. Hermione merely shook her head, claiming it was some unintelligent prose not worthy of any attention, but it was hard not to notice the worried look on her face. Ron gave up after a while and went to bed, whereas Harry waited till they were alone before he queried Hermione again.

"Do you really want to know?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Harry's reply was crisp and quick.

"Well, the second line went something like, 'I wish to bring to your attention that this beautiful lady here translating the book for you is a good catch, and I'm happy to predict your marriage with her.' That's about it." Hermione recalled from what she read in the book, and how offended she felt. Ever since coming to Hogwarts, and having to face grievous discrimination, Hermione felt oppressed. She felt as though she was no longer in control of her own life.

"What? That's ridiculous! Perhaps it's just a coincidence? His ancestor would never have predicted that he would come to you for help, right?" Harry was shocked at the content of the book.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm not going to touch that book ever again. I'm not the one the book was looking for." Hermione gave Harry a reassured smile and went to bed. Harry felt the dire need to talk to Draco again, but it was now night-time and trying to break into the Slytherin dungeon again wasn't the wisest thing to do. Harry had to wait till morning.

That night, Harry did not sleep well. He was drifting in and out of sleep, and kept having dreams of Hermione and Draco getting together. Harry was clearly jealous, but at the same time he clearly wasn't that clear on his emotions. He thought that he was just being concerned about Draco as a friend. Or so he thought.

At the same time in the Slytherin dormitory, Draco Malfoy could not sleep either. Lying in place of him on his bed were mugs and mugs of black coffee, while he was practically tearing his bookshelf apart, in a frantic attempt to find his book of Advance Practical Spells Vol. 2, which contained the Speed Learning charm he needed. After nearly emptying his shelf, he finally found that book lodged among his growing collection of quidditch magazines. He pulled the book out and swept away the dust. Opening to the page on Speed Learning, he went down the list, _American Wizarding History, Bulgarian, Chinese...English History, **French**_Draco grinned smugly as he found what he wanted. He flipped to the page, and read on to find out how he could speed-learn French. He was appalled at the method, for it involved having to cast a _studio muggerio _charm on oneself, something Draco totally detest. Not only that, one has to supply oneself with a wide array of books on French, including a complete vocabulary list, grammar and pronunciation. As such, even if Draco was ready to put up with the effects of the charm, he would have to wait till tomorrow before he can check out the books from the library.

The next morning, Harry leaped out of bed and ran down to the Great Hall in an effort to find Draco, whereas the latter leaped out of bed, against his norm, and ran to the library. Madam Pince stared at Malfoy with grave distrust, as she always do when she deals with Slytherin students. Draco moved along the aisle of Foreign Languages and ended up with an armload of books on French. When he dropped the books onto Madam Pince's table, he met Hermione, who happened to be checking out some book on Numerology.

"So, you are picking up French?" Hermione noticed the many French books Draco had in possession. Madam Pince's wand moved across the books, while the _catalogus_ was busy updating the records.

"Yes, so I won't need your help." Draco replied dryly. He picked up his load and left the library in a hurry, even skipping breakfast. Hermione took her book and went to the Great Hall for breakfast with the rest.

"'Mione, got you some of your favourite pancakes." Ron pushed a plate of delicious pancakes to Hermione as she sat down.

"Guess who I saw in the library. Draco Malfoy." Hermione said between bites of pancake, for she was starving. Ron choked on his breakfast on hearing that, for he never knew Draco Malfoy woke up before eight in the morning, let alone get up early so that he could go to the library. On hearing Malfoy's name, Harry sat up and came out of his daze.

"What? He was in the library? What was he doing there?" Harry enquired, appearing overly zealous over this matter.

"He was checking out some French books. I think he's trying to pick up French." Hermione replied and Harry nodded in understanding. The trio went back to their dormitory and got read for Potions class with the Slytherins. For many years in a row, Gryffindor seem to always have Potions with the Slytherins, perhaps to Snapes' amusement.

Both Harry and Draco could hardly pay attention in class, each having their own agendas to attend to. Harry wrote a message to Draco and slipped it on his table has he walked pass it to go to the front of class to be ridiculed by Snape. He had arranged to meet Draco after Potions class. Usually, Draco would have ignored such a note, but today, he had other plans. As Harry requested, Draco met Harry at the West Tower. Harry seemed to have a particular liking for the seclusion of the Owlery.

"So, what do you want?" Draco asked nonchalantly, feigning disinterest in the topic of discussion.

"I know what kept Hermione away from helping you." Harry confessed and proceeded to tell him about the second line of the book. Draco was equally taken aback, initially swearing and scowling at such arrangements. Then he remembered his own take at this issue. Unlike the usual Draco, he actually trusted Harry to help him in his speed learning of French. The both of them had no more lessons for the rest of the day; hence Draco brought Harry to his sanctuary in school- the North Tower. He knew that Professor Trelawney would be all willing to let him use the place, for he is her prized student.

Draco picked a table near the top, and sat down with the books. He asked Harry to cast the _studio muggerio_ charm on him. Draco clenched his fists, closed his eyes and pursed his lips, urging Potter to get on with it. Draco hated this charm, but always resorted to it during the exams. Instantly, a pair of thick glasses appeared on Draco's face, and his hair was combed in a fashion even Harry would never want to be caught dead with. Draco immediately hit the books, reading and absorbing at an alarming rate of two pages per second. Harry then sat down at another table and watched Draco study. He chuckled when he learnt that Draco wore glasses, and watching him at work was a totally different experience from watching him walk in sun. Draco had that focused look on his face and his beautiful grey eyes scanning the pages with such certainty. Harry reclined in a corner and admired the pretty boy from there. Draco was almost done with the books when Harry fell asleep. At this time, Draco was already speaking French fluently, but before he could complete the course, his attention was suddenly diverted to Harry. This brought much shock to Draco, for he knew that the _studio muggerio_ charm would have rendered him utmost and complete attention to his work, and not diverted. The first thing that came to his mind was that the charm was wearing off, and he decided to make do with it, for he was about to complete his "leçon de français" soon. He saw this as a study break, and he stretched his muscles aching from being kept in the same position for hours. He stole a look a Harry, who was sleeping in a corner. The messy black hair fell over his eyes, his arms folded across his chest and his chin tucked in. Harry looked so blissful, not like the Voldemort fighting child, not like the teenager who has the weight of the world on his shoulder. At that point, Harry looked innocent. Draco slapped himself out of these thoughts and returned to his books. But he found it hard to focus. He was appalled at the malfunctioning of the charm. Seeing that he has only a few more pages to go, Draco decided to give it a break and he shut the book. He stood up and moved over to Harry and sat down beside him.

Draco shook the sleeping boy and tried to wake him up. "Wake up, you sleepy head." Malfoy was taken aback by his own gentleness, but didn't care too much about it. Harry stirred and Malfoy shook him harder till he woke up. "I'm done, I'm going back to read the book now. You..." Draco had wanted to invite Harry back with him, but considering that it might cause the Slytherins their sanity if they saw them together; he decided to give it a miss. "You better go back to your dorm. You look tired." Draco found himself being nice to Potter again. Draco packed up the books and left, leaving Harry surprised that Draco was actually concerned about him.

* * *

Studio muggerio: A charm that allows someone to turn into a studious mugger, allowing speed learning. Used by many witches and wizards to help ace the N.E.W.T.s. Only drawback is mandatory dorky look.  
Catalogus: A creature that's a good at cataloguing and keeping records. Resembles a human spider, with eight or more arms, each capable of acting independent of the other. Generally quiet and docile creature, much to the liking of libriarians.  



	7. The Slytherin Accostrome

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new term/spells/magical item are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

* * *

On the way back to the Slytherin dungeon, Draco went to the library to drop off the books. He was done with them, and he is now proficient in French. He couldn't wait to read the Book of Eclairement, and unravel the mystery that has been kept over generations of Malfoys, and why he was chosen to read the book. He barged into the library, and threw the books down at the counter. The catalogus stared at Draco maliciously for giving him so much work, and Madam Pince gave him a cold hard stare for creating so much noise. There were few students in the library, mainly the Ravenclaws.

Draco had wanted to give dinner a miss to read his book, but his hunger got the better of him hence he went for a bite at the Great Hall before going back to his book. Dinner time at Hogwarts was an extravagant event; almost endless supply of food, students chattering away over their food and ghosts flying around creating a racket. Draco selected some poultry and potatoes, and not forgetting his dosage of caffeine. He was digging in when he noticed the trio coming into the Great Hall, Harry lagging behind. Harry looked tired, but nonetheless remained robust around the rest. Draco gobbled down his dinner and left the hall early to get going on his book.

Back in the comfort of his bed, Draco made himself another coffee and began to pour over the book.

"You are now holding the Book of Enlightenment, which is written in French." Read the first line. Hermione didn't lie after all. He went on, "I wish to bring to your attention that this beautiful lady here translating the book for you is a good catch, and I'm happy to predict your marriage with her." There was then an unusually large space between this and the next line. The next line went, "No. I wasn't being serious. It was a joke. I will never betroth a Malfoy heir to just any French speaking girl. This measure is to prevent, I repeat, to prevent just any French girl trying to marry you. I believe you are a fine child, given the good lineage you have. I believe your father, Lucius, is now either in captivity, or ill or ill in captivity. Do not worry too much about it, he was never meant to live long. The crux here is you. Do not question my ability in reading into the future, trust me, I am far better that that Divination teacher of yours."

"First let me tell you about me. Yes, I am Raghnall Malfoy, your father's grandfather. This might sound a long time ago, but trust me, I regard to you as I regard to a son. See, your father's grandmother, my wife, Glenys Malfoy, was from Hogwarts and me, myself was from Beauxbaton. I married your great-grandmother and her father insisted that I take on the Malfoy surname. I know you are rather shocked to hear that, but trust me, that is the case. Glenys insisted on sending our children and subsequently our descendents to Hogwarts, just as the Malfoys before. We had two children, Madeleine and Wyatt, who is your grandfather. Madeleine died at the age of fifteen, and in the later part of the book, I will elaborate further." Draco was really quite shocked that his great-grandfather, had not been a true Malfoy, and had not been to Hogwarts. All these mystery was causing him to feel queasy. Yet he continued to read the book.

"Wyatt grew up a fine young man, very soft-spoken and gentle, unlike the unruly Malfoys before. Many people said that Wyatt took after me, but he just lacked the aptitude for divination. Wyatt Malfoy was the Head Boy at Hogwarts during his time. And yes, then, Dumbledore was still teaching Transfiguration. And yes, I believe you guessed it right, Wyatt was in Hogwarts during the time of Tom Riddle. Back then, Tom Riddle was a studious pupil, quiet and soft-spoken. He was two years senior to Wyatt, and was in the same year as Madeleine. The three of them were friends, and that would tell you why your father is a death-eater for Voldemort. I never particularly object to their friendship, until the sudden death of Myrtle. I was concerned about the safety of the two, but Madeleine reassured me in saying, 'purebloods are safe'. I never really understood until Glenys told me about the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts. What horror I would say to keep a basilik in the castle!"

Draco was having trouble trying to take in all the facts. His grandfather had been friends with Tom Riddle? And he never knew he had a grandaunt who died in Hogwarts. Draco was disturbed, nonetheless. Scanning the rest of the page and the next few pages, Draco realized that it was all about how his grandfather excelled in school and the years after. Draco was essentially puzzled as to why his great-grandfather had wanted him to know all this and kept beating round the bush with digression about the family and the extended family. Draco was feeling pent-up with the information overload, and how little he knew of his family. In a spurt of fury, Draco slammed his fist down hard on the book. "Argh!" Draco exclaimed as he felt sharp pain radiation through his palm. He was pricked by a needle hidden in the book and his blood was smeared on the book. Draco swore and curse loudly while clutching his injured hand.

Suddenly, light poured out of the Book of Enlightenment. The light was so bright it blinded Draco, and the book levitated off the bed, orienteering itself to be opened in Draco's face. The light turned from bright white to bright red, and the pages of the book seemed to flutter to the ground. The light diffused to be a gentle ember, the page glowing red in Malfoy's face. Draco reached for the book, and it fell nicely into his opened arms. The thick leather bound book was reduced to merely the cover. The interior of the cover glowed blood red and slowly reduced to a soft silver. Draco looked into the red, he saw a flowing liquid like a Pensieve, and it seemed like a bottomless pit. Suddenly, words appeared across the surface, written in what seemed as blood. "_Draco Guthrie Malfoy"_. His name appeared on the surface.

"What is this?" Draco was amazed at this new gadget he possessed. The words on the silver liquid changed. His name diffused into the liquid and a new word is formed. "_Accostrome"_. At the sight of this word, Draco dropped the book. The Accostrome of Slytherin. One would be honoured to received such a gem, but Draco was taken aback, that he was chosen. Each of the four houses had an accostrome, each were disguised as a thick leather bound book with the house mark on the cover and had golden clasps. Only the chosen one could unravel the mystery behind the book. The chosen one is not necessary the heir, but bears the blood which the book identifies. The last time the Slytherin accostrome appeared was during Tom Riddle's time, said to have been in possession by a certain female prefect, but lost ever since then. Students have never seen the accostrome before, only reading about it. The accostrome is one of the highest magic in the wizarding world, it is enchanted with many charms unknown to even the Ministry. The book holds the history, the present and the future. It is virtually all-knowing, and and for years, the wizarding world has been awaiting the return of at least one accostrome from at least one of the houses of Hogwarts, such that it would bestow wisdom as to the way to defeat Lord Voldemort. The accostrome has someone a spirit of its own, and it remains even invisible to all wizards till it decides when it wants to appear. Everyone feels that the Gryffindor accostrome would be the first to appear, and would assist Harry greatly to defeat him. And now, the Slytherin accostrome is back, and in the hands of Draco Malfoy.

Malfoy picked up the treasure again, and wiped the beads of perspiration off his face. He was unclear as to whether he should stick his wand into the liquid like a pensieve, or should he just talk to the book as his did earlier on. Malfoy thought that he should be speaking to Salazar Slytherin, the maker of the Slytherin accostrome. "Are you Salazar Slytherin?" Malfoy asked the accostrome.

"_Yes. And no._" The book replied. Draco's eyes opened wide with wonder. How could an accostrome hold more than one identity? Unless, if the other party was... Voldemort?

* * *

Accostrome: read the fic for explanation.  
  
Please please please review. Thanks.  



	8. The Gryffindor Fireplace

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new term/spells/magical item are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

* * *

For the first time in his life, Draco felt important yet puny at the same time. How Salazar Slytherin has chosen him to receive the accostrome of his time, and how Lucius has, all these while, kept him in the dark about the history of the family. Draco sunk into his couch, the accostrome still in his hands. His breathing laboured, and the room seemed to spin. Draco was in such shock he could not react.

Suddenly, the accostrome began to show him something else. "_Gryffindor fire place."_

Draco's gray eyes widened as he saw these words. What was he to do at the Gryffindor fire place? Why is the accostrome asking him to go there?

"Why am I to go to their fire place?" Draco questioned the swirls, for which now are green. The Slytherin green.

"_Put it out." _Draco's mouth gapped. The accostrome wanted him to put out the fire in the fire place of the Gryffindor common room? The fire that has never been put out since the castle was built? Draco just could not imagine the wrath he would incur from the Gryffindors should he try to extinguish the fire. He would at least need someone to take the blame. Someone from inside.

"Potter! Wake up!" Draco pounded hard on Harry's door, threatening to alohomora the door.

"What?" A sleepy Harry opened the door, only to a flustered Draco barge in and pushed him on his bed. Still not out of his sleep, Harry mustered only enough strength to mutter a swear word while he tried to adjust the light Draco has put on.

"Potter! Listen to me. I need you to go put out the fire in the fire place." Draco demanded.

"What?" This time round, Harry was awake. He could not believe his ears. Who on earth would be daft enough to wake him up in the dead middle of the night to ask him to put out the Gryffindor fire? The one that has been burning since the beginning of Hogwarts?

"Just go and put it out!" Draco shouted. He paced around Harry's suite, holding the accostrome.

"You are asking me to put out that fire just to satisfy some late night desire of yours? Are you utterly out of your mind?" Harry asked. He was totally taken aback by that ridiculous idea. McGonagall would skin him alive should she know of this. Besides, Harry was not even sure if the fire in there could be relit. Godric never left a message on that.

"It's the Slytherin accostrome. It asked me to put out the Gryffindor fire." Draco just spurt out the truth about the accostrome. Something told him he could trust Potter on keeping it a secret. For some reason or another, he began to want to include Potter in this plan, these things the accostrome is revealing to him.

"You are in possession of the Slytherin accostrome?" Harry was befuddled. Why would the Slytherin accostrome reappear at this crucial time, especially to Draco Malfoy? Who came from a generation of Death Eaters? Unless if Salazar Slytherin wants to help Voldemort to gain power. Harry took a step back, shocked at such a postulation.

"This is the accostrome. I don't know why but this is the French book I inherited from Father. My blood activated the accostrome." Draco explained, fearing that Harry doubted his words. He shoved the accostrome to Harry, and Harry's eyes lit at the sight of it.

"Now will you believe me?"

Harry crept down to the common room, carrying with him his wand. He faced the fireplace, watching the fire burn bright orange. Sticking his wand in front of him, Harry muttered a bleak extinguishing charm, fearful of any adverse reactions. As he expected, the orange flame turned blue, and a loud voice boomed, reverberating around the common room. "Why?" The deep voice asked, and the room seemed to shake.

Before Harry could answer, Draco appeared from behind him and faced the surface of the accostrome at the fire. Before he opened his mouth to explain his reasons, the fire returned to a soft orange glow and gradually extinguish to an ember. For the first time in their lives, and the history of Hogwarts, the Gryffindor fire place was devoid of its flame.

"What now?" Harry could not take his eyes off the fire place.

"I think there's something there." Handing the accostrome to Harry, Draco grabbed the poker by the side of the fire place and started to stick it into the fireplace. He fumbled around, and discovered the hidden treasure. The thing he was meant to find. Draco started to push the item with the poker and rolled it towards him.

"A cryptex." Harry said. He could hardly believe his eyes. Within a span of less than half and hour, Harry has been shocked more than twice. A cryptex. Something he thought had only existed in books and the Muggle world.

"What on earth is a cryptex?" Draco questioned. He has never seen or heard this Da Vinci's invention. Picking up the marble cylinder, Draco cleaned the soot off the polished stone.

"It's hard to explain it to you now. We have to get this fire up first." Harry did an incendio charm, and was again, surprised that it sprung up so easily. In his mind, he began to believe that Godric never did put in much magic into the fire. He lead Draco back to his room, where the two could explore the cryptex.

The marble cylinder was strangely longer than the cryptex Harry knows, it contains eight dials rather than the four proposed by Da Vinci. Having eight dials would give it over 2 billion permutations. Harry cannot imagine how they were going to crack the code. He fingered the dials, the cylinder feels warm to hold, for it has been hidden in the Gryffindor fireplace since Merlin knows when.

"So, what does it do?" Draco sat himself next to Harry on the bed, and stared hard at the strange contraption.

"You must find the password in order to open it, and it holds a parchment of some sort. It's some form of a safe." Harry replied, still quite surprised that someone had actually manufactured it out of Da Vinci's designs.

"So all we have to do is to find the code and open it up to reveal its secret?" Draco was intrigued at this muggle artifact, and its presence in Hogwarts. The old Draco would have marched up straight to the Ministry of Magic with such artifact and land Dumbledore in trouble. Today, he would want to keep it for himself.

"It's not as easy. The code is made up of eight letters from the alphabet. We'll have to try over two billion codes," warned Harry.

"We'll just ask the accostrome." Without any delay, Draco started to question the accostrome, hopeful that an answer can be provided.

"_A phrase you yearn to hear, a sentence you fear to speak." _ The accostrome revealed the answers, in a form that bemused the duo, for it was as though no answer was given. Neither of them had any particular liking for riddles, and this was just not the time to try to solve one.

"What? A riddle?" Draco rolled his eyes and gave up. This was too difficult. He would rather spend his time thinking of a charm to try all the different permutations to try to crack the code.

"This riddle... it's definitely weird." Harry commented, albeit he had this feeling that the answer was easier than anyone thought. Though the logic behind his guess was plainly radical and impossible, Harry wanted to give it a try, at least some time soon.

"This is stupid. We'll never crack the code." Draco grunted and sulked. Just a moment ago, he thought he was going to have the chance to solve the mystery of his family history, and perhaps even the mystery of Hogwarts, now he is daunted. The impending challenge of this cryptex blew the whole idea of unveiling the secrets off, and Draco knew why the secret has been so well-kept. It is kept in an eight-letter cryptex, and would take anyone years to find the code. "Let's just break it open or something."

"No!" Harry grabbed the wand from Draco to prevent him from severing the cylinder. "If we try to break the cryptex by force the vinegar in the tube will melt the parchment. Papyrus to be exact."

"What? We can't open it by force? Does that mean we can't drop it? This is ridiculous! Which son-of-a-muggle came up with this?" Draco was worked up. He stood up, grabbed his wand back from Harry and stomped off towards the door when Harry spoke again.

"I love you!" Harry exclaimed, certainly shocking the infuriated Slytherin. "The code is 'I love you'!"

"What?" Draco felt outraged. He had evidently only heard the first part of what Harry said. Why is Potter trying to profess his love when things are certainly not going well here? Draco turned around and gave Harry a quizzical look, his brows knotted together, his pale face giving off a certain glow from the light.

Harry could not help but stare at Draco, and was reminded of how the blonde always looked better when he was concerned. The sneak peaks at him during Potions, the time when he was speed learning French, and now. Harry definitely had that soft spot for boys at work. "I love you." Harry muttered again, leaving the cryptex on the bed and went towards Draco. He placed his hand on the flawless skin of the Slytherin, and moved nearer, brushing his lips against Draco's. Draco did not resist, for it suddenly dawned upon him, "_a phrase you yearn to hear, a sentence you fear to speak." _Harry drew back, and stared hard into his eyes. For that moment, time seemed to have frozen.

"Let's try that code." Harry whispered, his breath warm on Draco's face, those lips threatening to lock on his.

"On the cryptex or what?" Draco questioned. No answer was required for that question, for both the options were equally as tempting to the duo.

* * *

Cryptex: The fic should tell enough, if still in doubt, consult The Da Vinci's Code. Credits go to The Da Vinci's Code by Dan Brown.  
  
I'm sorry if some of you are are disappointed the story turn out to be slash but I promise to be mild, ok? Please review. Thanks loads.  



	9. Chinese Takeaway, Anyone?

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new term/spells/magical item are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

* * *

The duo went back to the cryptex, Harry picking it up gingerly. He turned the dials carefully, forming "I love you". His fingers trembled slightly, for he was unsure what to expect when the cryptex is opened. Draco watched the marble cylinder slide out, a rolled up piece of parchment curled up around a glass tube in the centre. _The glass tube must contain vinegar_, thought Draco. Harry motioned Draco to pick up the papyrus- it was meant to be his. Draco reached out for the papyrus, which was far more hardy and rigid than the parchment they use. He tugged at the papyrus and unrolled it, revealing characters that were foreign to both.

"What are these?" Harry asked, staring hard at the black strokes on the paper, clueless about what they meant.

"I think it's Chinese of some sort. I recall seeing something alike at Mortfare." Draco replied, as he fingered the complex Chinese characters on the paper, remembering it from Mortfare, the Chinese apothecary in Knockturn Alley. Draco used to go to Knockturn Alley a lot with his father, weaving through the various shops dealing in the dark Arts, they had their private supplies of potions and ingredients that has been banned by the Ministry of Magic, or at least Hogwarts. Lucius even held some of the shops in the dingy alley, leasing it out to the tenants. This enabled young Draco to be able to run around the otherwise dangerous place without much harm coming to him.

"Mortfare?" Harry had not the slightest idea where, or what Mortfare is.

"It's in Knockturn alley. Owned by this Chinese wizard. Used to go there a lot to buy those Chinese herbs," explained Draco. "We should go there one day to ask him about this." He rolled up the parchment and slotted it back into the marble cylinder. He disposed the vinegar and kept the cryptex in his cloak.

"Go to Knockturn alley? Are you out of your mind?" Harry can never forget that incident at Knockturn alley in year two, how he got to Knockturn alley by accident. How the dark wizards and witches glared at him, some spat in sight of him. These mental images alone gave him the shudders.

"Harry Potter. Do not step over the line. Don't think that just because I trust you, you can insult me. I am Draco Malfoy. I have my connections, don't you think I'm daft. As for now, I shall go back to my dormitory and you shall not breathe a word about tonight." With that, Draco left the room and went back to the Slytherin dungeon. Feigning anger in front of Harry was certainly more difficult than he thought. Draco stormed out of the Gryffindor dungeon, the voice of the Fat Lady cursing trailing behind him. Suddenly, a cloak covered him and Harry appeared beside him.

"Filch is somewhere nearby," warned Harry as he pointed to the Marauder's Map. The cloak was big enough for the two, but Harry still stuck close to Draco, the two bodies at dangerous proximity from each other. Harry, being slightly taller than Draco, was literally breathing down his neck, his warm breath encircling Draco's neck. Harry catches a wift of the shampoo Draco used, as well as his cologne. _Who on earth would wear cologne to sleep?_ Harry wondered. Draco could feel Harry's warm breath on his neck, but continued to walk under the invisibility cloak.

The two reached the Slytherin dungeon sooner than they thought. Draco had wanted to turn around to thank Harry for sending him back, but he did not want to fear another lip-brushing with him. This just was not the time to get touchy.

The two had arranged to go down to Knockturn alley during the Hogsmeade weekend, to use the Floo powder at the fire place at the Shrieking Shack. The Shrieking Shack has been restored after the Sirius Black incident at Year 3, and being turned into an inn, where wizarding folks could stay all. The fireplace was registered on the Floo network, but students were not allowed to use it. "Rules are meant to be broken," Draco volunteered and dragged Harry along on this.

Draco had brought along only the papyrus and not the accostrome, lest he brought too much attention to himself. He led Harry through the winding alley, by passing many dark wizards and witches who scorned them. Some gave due respect to Draco, for they were tenants of the Malfoys' buildings. The two soon stopped outside this tiny shop, its meek signboard hanging dangerously above the narrow doorway. The door was made of hard wood, and a big brass knocker a quarter height from the top. The knocker was a figure of a lion, with big bulging eyes, its mouth wide open, biting on to a big ring. Draco lifted the other end of the ring, and knocked it against the door a few times. The ring hinged on the lion's mouth, and for a moment, Harry thought he heard the lion roar.

"Come in," a husky voice said. Draco pushed the door open and pulled Harry into the shop. The shop was dark, like many others along Knockturn Alley. Bird cages were hanging on poles straddled along the ceiling, each containing a pigeon. Rows and rows of wooden drawers lined the wall, and similarly, Chinese characters were engraved on the drawers, and painted gold. The shop resembled an apothecary, jars of bizarre ingredients can be seen stacked up in the different corners of the shop, strong scent of sandalwood hit the duo like a draft. An old balding man appeared from behind a blind and greeted them. The Chinese had thin moustache as the corners of his mouth. Dressed in a Chinese shirt, the old man scrutinized Harry with his slit-like eyes, but not paying any more attention than that.

"This is Mr. Sun," Draco introduced, taking extra care in pronouncing "Sun" as "Soon", the way the wizard had taught him. Mr. Sun was one of the few wizards Draco truly respected, not only for his extreme wealth of knowledge; he was wise and was considered a sage back in China. "Mr. Sun, this is Harry Potter." The two nodded at each other. Draco fished out the papyrus from his bag and showed it to the sage.

"I found this and I was thinking if you could translate it for me," Draco requested, all polite and nice. The sage took a look at the characters on the paper and knotted his brows.

"Are you sure this is meant for you?" The sage asked, seemingly puzzled by how Draco came into possession of the passage.

"Yes, I was directed to it. What does it say? Is it something vile?" Draco enquired, fearing that the content was of a greater evil.

"No, no, it is not vile, but it is an ingredients list. This is interesting," The sage stood up from his chair and paced around behind his counter. Harry could hear him mumbling to himself in a foreign language, and Harry presumed that it was Chinese. "It seems to be a concoction for a medicine to treat a chronic form of liver disease. This is traditional Chinese medicine, for the muggles. Why would a wizard like you need something like this?" The sage questioned.

On hearing the phrase "chronic liver disease", Harry and Draco looked at each other wide-eyed. There was hope for Lucius. Draco told the sage about his father and his disease, and Harry chipped in by telling him about his suspicion about Lucius contracting hepatic encephalopathy. The sage nodded in agreement and told the two that he would help to concoct the medicine.

"There is an ingredient that I do not have with me. I would have to write to my fellows in China to have them send it over. I would contact you once the medicine is ready. I believe Hogwarts allow my pigeon in?" The sage asked. Harry was puzzled until Draco explained to him that the sage used pigeons instead of owls. Just when the duo was about to leave the shop, a house elf leapt down from the second storey and stopped the duo. Harry and Draco were taken by surprise at such audacity. The house elf then went up to Mr. Sun and started to converse to him in fluent Mandarin. The two did not understand what they were talking about, but something told them it involved them.

"Ah yes, it slipped my mind," Mr. Sun then went down behind his counter and reappeared with a wooden box. "Mr. Malfoy, if you would come over here." Draco went over and the sage handed him the box.

"For a moment I thought this was meant for another Malfoy. Here take it, your great-grandfather told me to give it to you, should one day you come in with a prescription. I sort of forgot about it, my memory is failing me." The sage then smiled at Draco.

"You were around when his great grandfather was still alive?" Harry could not believe his eyes. The person standing in front of him looks no older than eighty years old, and yet his real age could be well over a hundred. The sage shook his head and gave a reply that further shocked Harry.

"I was around when Raghnall's grandfather was around," the sage said and smiled. He was certainly very old. Draco took the box off the counter and thanked the sage. He was not himself. The two left the shop, and along the way back to Hogsmeade and then Hogwarts, Draco remained quiet. Harry sensed this change, but decided not to pursue it until Draco was ready to tell him what the box was.

* * *

Mortfare: A Chinese apothecary shop. A matter of interest, "mortfare" is actually Chinese with a little zing for it's a highly stylized form of "mo fa", meaning magic in Chinese. Well, it's just for your information.  
  
It's a cliffhanger, I know. Will try to update soon ok? Please review.  



	10. The Appearance Of The Dragon And Phoenix

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new terms/spells/magical items are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.

* * *

"Draco, are you sure you're all right? Do you want to talk?" Harry asked. Draco just shrugged and continued walking. Seeing Draco so down, Harry rushed into Honeydukes and emerged with a bagful of assorted sweets and chocolates, bound to include something Draco would like. "Here, take it," Harry shoved the treats towards downcast Draco, who looked up at him with those shimmering grey eyes. Their eyes locked for a while, Harry observing the different emotions shown in the blonde's eyes- the fear of losing his father, the perplex of probably receiving a whole new puzzle to solve, and the responsibility of being the chosen one for the Slytherin accostrome.

Draco mumbled a word of thanks to Harry and took the bag of treats. He stuck his hand in and fished out a Nixxie's Nectarine and offered it to Harry. Taken by surprise, Harry awkwardly took it from Draco and began sucking on it. "How did you know I loved this?" Harry asked.

"I always see you sneak a few to classes," the blonde replied, himself sucking on the candy too. He smiled, and that smile reassured Harry that his worries were uncalled for. The two continued walking back to Hogwarts, occasionally scorned by the Slytherins who saw them together. The Slytherins scorned Draco for his company, and made snide comments behind their backs. Dumbledore has asked the help of the wizards and witches at Hogsmeade to keep the reporters out and to keep the Lucius' conditions from the students.

As the two came near the crossroad between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, a dark figure came out of the bushes and dragged both of them with him. The figure was massive and reeked of rum, he towered over the two for at least another foot of so, his strength outweighing the combined of the two teenagers. Caught by surprise Harry immediately reached for his wand and tried to cast a spell on their captors. However, the captor grabbed from behind, Harry found it hard to cast the spell accurately on him. Draco screamed for help, only to hear the captor shout _silencio _and Draco felt no sound coming out of his mouth. "_So he does wandless magic,"_ thought Harry. Frantically trying to resist the captivity Harry struggled against the massive arm that practically lifted the both of them off ground. The captor brought them deep into a forest, where the light is dimmed and the forest canopy thick.

The captor set the both of them down and used a spell to bind them to their spot. For the first time, Harry looked into the face of their captor. Dressed in rugged clothes, the captor was huge, nearly seven feet tall. He was bald, with missing teeth, and carried a bottle of rum at his waist. Draco presumed that this man had to be crazy drunkard. Still bound by the silencio charm, Draco could not speak a word of disdain.

"Who are you? Why did you bring us here?" Harry questioned the captor.

"He's back!" The captor said with a smile, a twinkle in his eye that made it seem so dark. "He's back for you!" His laughters then echoed among the trees, leaving some leaves shaking.

"What do you mean? Voldemort's back? Tell him I'm waiting!" Harry felt the anger rise in him, his heart pounded in his chest. Harry has been waiting for Voldemort, to defeat him and revenge his parents. Draco turned and looked at Harry in surprise, shocked that Harry actually taunted the captor to bring on You-know-Who.

"Do not say his name, he will find you!" Another laughter filled the air, further infuriating Harry. "He's not the only one look for you," the captor hissed, drawing himself so near to the Gryffindor Harry could smell the rum of his breath, together with a stench of rotten meat. "The Rose is coming...and you cannot hide..."

"What rose? What are you talking about?" Harry shouted, his face flushed with anxiety. Never before had anyone tried to warn him like this, perhaps except for Dhobby in Year two. Harry felt the threat of facing the unknown, he feared the uncertainty. Sure, facing Voldemort would be an uncertainty of venue, time and outcome, yet Harry was certain of one thing- someone would have to die in the battle.

"The Rose of Miztgral! Haven't you heard of it? It's waiting for you..." The captor laughed again, this time to be stopped short by a shout from behind. Appearing out of the shadows was Lupin, the only Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher who has served beyond the one-year record.

"_Incarcerous_!" Immediately the captor was in captive himself, thick rope wound about him from head to toe. Lupin had also used a charm to prevent the man from using his wandless magic. Lupin looked very worked up and angry, pointing his wand straight at the man's face.

"Tell me, what are you doing here?" Lupin confronted the now captured man, his eyes wide with fury.

"Remus Lupin!" The man changed his tone, seemingly scorning the Professor.

"Belthazar Mahon. Tell me, what are you doing here? You know perfectly well you are banned from Hogwarts' grounds." The duo, wide-eyed with shock, stared as the two reestablished relations.

"I have to warn Harry Potter against the Rose," on speaking about the Rose, Belthazar seem to go into some form of trance, behaving in a manner befitting only a madman. "The Rose is coming for him, it's very near..."

"Are you utterly out of your mind?" Lupin shouted at Belthazar and stormed towards the youths. He released them from the charms and took them away, leaving Mahon writhing on the floor as he went on relentlessly about the Rose.

"Who is he?" Draco questioned the Professor as he escorted them back to Hogwarts.

"Belthazar Mahon. The bear. He was a student at Hogwarts but was expelled in Year 5 due to misconduct. He used to be friends with your father and us, before he was expelled and went delirious," Lupin explained. The Marauders had once included him, before he was expelled. Rumours were that he was caught practicing the Dark Arts and hence was expelled.

"What is this rose thing about?" Harry asked, still suffering from the aftershock of all the events that took place. For a moment he thought he had a close brush with one of the Voldemort supporters.

"He was just blabbering nonsense. Became a drunkard after leaving Hogwarts. Haven't met him in years. The last time I saw him was when Lily and James got married. He was at the ceremony for a while, then left. He must have been drunk. Don't think so much about it," the Professor reassured Harry that it was nothing. But it was evident that he is hiding something, and nothing Harry does it going to make him confess.

Back at the Hogwarts castle, the two, equally downcast and puzzled, went to their favourite haunt- the North Tower. Putting the rose matter to the back of his mind, Harry was eager to find out what's in Draco's box. They sat at a table and placed the box on it. The box was made of strong mahogany wood, the surface smooth and exhibited good workmanship. It was a small box, about the side of a palm, and the hinges by the side were made of perhaps gold, or gold plated material. There were some carvings on the cover- a very fine dragon and a phoenix. Draco fingered the carvings, awed by the realism of the creatures.

"Are you going to open it?" Harry enquired, for he is equally anxious to know what secrets the box held. Draco gave a nod, and placed his hand over the cover, lifting the side opposite the hinges. The hinges gave a creak, and then revealed the content. Lined with royal blue velvet and cushioning, two gold rings sat in their slots. Picking up the rings, the duo realized that in tandem with the carvings on the box, one ring was the dragon and the other the phoenix. The workmanship on the ring was equally marvelous, the phoenix tail encased with a variety of gem stones- amethyst and rubies, while the dragon had emeralds and diamonds. The rings glimmered in the light, refracting a myriad of colours that bedazzled the boys.

"Wow. These are nice," Draco commented. He was plainly stating the obvious and "nice" was certainly an understatement for those rings. "_It must be some family heirloom or something_," thought Draco.

"Draco, if these are meant to be wedding rings of some sort, why are they both of men's size? I thought one of it should be fitted for a girl's fingers?" Harry pointed out the discrepancy. True enough, the rings were both made to fit men's fingers, and the strange thing was, it fitted the two of them perfectly. Draco slipped on the phoenix ring while Harry had the dragon one. The rings slipped onto their ring fingers nice and snug, a perfect fit. With raised eyes and widened eyes, Draco stared at Harry's fingers, while the latter did the same. Harry gapped his mouth, but no sound came out. Draco did the same, and only a meek "gosh" escaped his lips.

Darting his eyes in another direction to avoid staring into Draco's charming grey eyes, Harry noticed a slip of paper sticking out from the box. "Hey, there's a note here."

Draco looked at the note and groaned. It was in Chinese again.

"They seem to like Chinese so much?" Draco passed the paper to Harry, who stared hard at the inscriptions on the paper, square words of such complexity every line and every stroke made a big difference.

"If that's the case, we should learn Chinese, shouldn't we?" Harry suggested. Moreover, for the wizards, picking up another language is of no big deal given the studio muggerio charm. Draco sniggered at that suggestion. "If you don't want, I can learn. Besides I have wanted to pick up a second language for a long time."

"My dear Potter sometimes I hate you so much for being so perfect!" Draco exclaimed, gleeful that he need not go through the charm again. "Let's head to the library now!" Draco pulled Harry from the seat and grabbed the box and the two practically ran to the library. Both had also absent-mindedly forgotten to take off the rings.

The library was quiet, as usual. Almost becoming a number two enemy of the catalogus, (with Hermione being number one) after checking out tons of French books and returning them on the same day the other time, Draco made Harry check out the books this time. Carrying an armload of books, the two could swear they heard a muffled gasp from the catalogus. Draco then helped Harry carry the books up to his dormitory. Fortunately for them, the Gryffindor common room was devoid of its inhabitants, everyone was outside playing or still at Hogsmeade.

"All right, cast the spell on me," Harry sat on his bed, spreading the books out in front of him whilst Draco sat in a chair next to him. The charm was cast, and Draco nearly died laughing, looking at a dorky Harry. For once, Harry actually had neatly combed hair. Studying Chinese at a tremendous speed, Harry was constantly mumbling to himself phrases and words in Mandarin, while Draco kept chuckling at him.

"What the?" Ron stood at the door and was taken aback by the blonde head in the room. It was true that Ron had agreed to let Harry help him, but forging such close friendship was not what Ron expected.

"Don't disturb him, he's study. Anyway, you can't, Weasel," the Slytherin turned around and warned Ron. He had sounded like a mother watching over her son, and Ron just rolled his eyes and left. Draco sat down, and started fingering the ring he was wearing. "_Such beauty,_" Draco thought. The gems on the phoenix were well-cut and polished, the ring immensely expensive and priceless looking, something that only fitted the royal family. He continued watching Harry learn Chinese, himself picking up some of the books Harry had gone through, flipping through it and marveled at the language. He was quite amazed at how people could communicate and build an entire civilization based on such tiny inscriptions that resembled dancing ants with the hands and legs sticking out everywhere. Conjuring images of ants tap-dancing and doing the Waltz, Draco laughed and Neville, who happened to be in the room promptly exited, muttering under his breath something that sounded like "crazy".

* * *

Nixxies Nectarine: a peachy-flavoured soft candy on a stick. Resembles a lollipop but the candy has texture of a toffee and perhaps slightly softer.  
Someone please review. That would make me very happy.  



	11. Soulmates Uncovered

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Please review. Explanations for new terms/spells/magical items are at post-fic author's notes. Thank you.  
Please review!

Thanks silver155 for review! Just in case you forgot, remember the sage from Mortfare has the prescription for Lucius? He's going to be fine.

* * *

By evening, Harry had finally mastered enough Chinese to understand the message in the wooden box, together with the dragon and phoenix rings. Harry was bushed from the studying, but the eagerness to unravel more secrets from the message drove him to continue.

Looking intently at the small, neat Chinese handwritings, Harry knotted his brows. "Do you want me to translate it for you? It is rather long," Harry offered, noting that the Slytherin was anxious about the content of the note. Draco nodded and begged Harry to go on, who prompt did.

"The dragon and phoenix rings, represents two most powerful leaders and thinkers of the ancient Magical world. The dragon represents Sethia, while the phoenix represents Osiria," Harry looked up. The two had the common understanding and acknowledge that Sethia and Osiria are two of the few wizards who made a statement, and a name for themselves. Sethia was the first few wizards to make use of destructive incantations; the Unforgivable Curses were some of them. He might sound like a dark wizard, but he was not. In his quest to find charms to revive the dead, he discovered many of the functional charms of today. Osiria was a great Diviner and thinker. He put across the idea of life after death, and had the ability to see into the future as well as the underworld. His works laid the path for Divination today.

"The Chinese have a saying of the match between the dragon and phoenix, this affinity between them is one of the highest in stature, and the attraction between them comes naturally. They complement each other in terms of strengths and weaknesses, as well as their behaviours and attitudes," Harry translated the message, and in his mind, he knew it might have referred to Draco and himself.

"There is a misconception that the phoenix is the female, and dragon the male. In fact, the phoenix in this case means a male. Two males bonded by the supreme of love and brotherhood, which is what makes their partnership a strong and powerful one," Harry paused. The two looked at each other, both clearly aware of the situation.

"The rings are charmed, only when worn by the chosen ones, and their hands placed side by side, will the magical creatures come to life, otherwise, the ring will glow red hot and scorch the wearer." The note ended and Harry put it aside. By some unspoken understanding and agreement, the duo stretched out their left hands and just when they were about to conduct the test, Draco suddenly drew his hand away.

"Wait, if these rings are meant to be a pair, does that mean that one of us would have to wear it on the right hand?" Draco asked. While Harry pondered on this issue, Draco slipped the ring off his left hand and switched it to the ring finger on his right hand. "Let's try." They slowly moved their hands next to each other, facing the same direction. Time seemed to stand still as they conducted the test, and both feared that they were not the chosen ones and would have to endure the scorch of red-hot gold.

All of a sudden, a high-pitched call was heard, distinctly that of a phoenix. At that instant, Draco screamed and watched as light poured out from his ring. At the same instant, a deep roar was heard, reverberating about the room. Harry drew in a deep breath and held it. The two nearly fainted from the next scene they witnessed. A beautiful phoenix, far more beautiful than Fawkes appeared and called. Its plumage was gold, like Fawkes, and the crimson of its other feathers was astonishingly red, as though they were made from rubies. The dragon from Harry's ring was no doubt a Chinese Fireball, no less awesome and charming as the phoenix. The two magical creatures suspended in the air and entwined each other as they flew in circles about the duo. Their next move caught the teenagers by surprise- they flew straight and the two and drove hard into their bodies, each creature bearing a part of the other. "_They complement each other in terms of strengths and weaknesses, as well as their behaviours and attitudes,"_ Harry remembered. The teenagers felt no pain, just a sensation of warm liquid spreading over their chests and into their hearts. Yet Draco felt his stomach convulse, threatening to be sick any moment. When the last of the creatures disappeared into their bodies, Draco rushed to the bathroom and threw up. Harry, on the other hand, tried to control his laboured breathing and his palpitating heart.

Draco reappeared at the bathroom door, looking sick. "What just happened?" Draco asked, as he walked towards the Gryffindor.

"I believe, we have just become the chosen ones," Harry replied. The two remained silent for a while, not knowing how to react.

"Do you think, our patronus have changed? It's just a gut feeling, but I feel that this inheritance is more than just this fanciful jewelry," Draco broke the silence. Nodding in approval, the two first cast a locking charm on the door, before proceeding to check out their patronus.

Harry started first, as light poured from the end of wand, Harry had expected to see a stag, and true, his patronum was still a stag, that shone bright and reminded him of Year 3, when he first learnt the charm and had thought the stag was James. Draco then tried his, fully expecting a white tiger. Just as no change had happened to Harry's patronus, Draco's white tiger appeared.

"I guess there's no change after all. Come, let us go grab our dinners." The two then left for the Great Hall.

As Harry sat at the Gryffindor table for dinner, Ron couldn't help but noticed the ring on Harry's finger.

"Harry, where did you get that from?" Ron held Harry's hand up, turning it in the light to see it glimmer. A few of the other Gryffindor boys crowded round to admire the beauty of that jewelry.

"It's from..." Harry stuttered, not knowing if he should tell about it.

"Is it from Draco Malfoy?" Ron questioned accusingly. Harry did not reply but pretended to be engrossed in his dinner.

"He proposed to you?" Ron, typically, gave an out-of-the-world suggestion. This caused Harry to choke on his dinner, nearly suffocating as the meatball clogged his oesophagus.

"So I take it as a yes? And you accepted him?" Ron laughed, clearly showing that it was all a joke. The other boys joined in his strange sense of humour and even Hermione laughed. They all knew perfectly well that it was impossible for the two arch enemies to get together. Fred always said, "it would even tickle You-know-Who to hear about their holy matrimony".

Harry had a hard time saving himself from near death, and resumed his dinner like as though nothing had happened, except that the blush on his cheeks refused to go away. At the Slytherin table, Draco was too taunted, but his retort rendered his followers speechless- it was a gift from his boyfriend in Beauxbaton. Some of the Slytherins actually fell for this, for they knew Draco swung both ways, and since his recent interest in French they were all the more convinced.

That night, Harry had a dream. He saw himself running in the snow, the surrounding devoid of any structures or plants. It was just a great big field covered with ankle deep snow. He was running towards a mound, and upon reaching he plunge his knee in the snow and lifted a single glass rose from the snow. He broke the glass stem, and plunged the jagged edge into his wrist, and watched as his blood rose up the stem and to the petals. The once colourless rose then became crimson red, as blood filled the petals, the rose turned into a live rose, its soft petals felt warm in Harry's hand. Then Harry was awoken by a piercing pain in his scar. This familiar pain, the same pain Harry felt whenever Voldemort was nearby.

"_Harry! Where are you? Are you all right?_" Harry heard Draco's voice, yet was certain he wasn't around, at least no where near his bed.

"_Draco! Where are you? I can hear you but I can't see you!" _Harry ran these thoughts through his head. Before he opened his mouth to speak, he heard Draco's replies.

"_Harry! I felt that your forehead was burning! And you had a bad dream! Right?"_ Draco replied. Harry was amazed at how Draco could read his mind.

"_Draco! You can read minds and talk to me?"_ Harry again ran this thought through his head, and hoped for a reply.

"_Harry. I think we're able to read each other's thoughts and communicate using our minds. Remember when our magical creatures taking parts of each other before they entered us? I think that's how we have changed."_ Harry was shocked to realize this. They were bound together by the ability to mind-read each other.

"_Draco. I dreamt of this rose. I believe it's that rose thing Belthazar was talking about this morning," _Harry replied, gradually getting used to this form of communication.

"_I thought Professor Lupin said that he was just talking nonsense?"_ Draco asked. It certainly felt weird to be able to talk to someone living on the other end of the castle, furthermore, through their minds.

"_I think Lupin is hiding something. I need to go to him tomorrow," _answered Harry.

"_All right. Let's try to sleep. Good night and sweet dreams."_ Harry wished the other boy sweet dreams too before falling asleep again. That night, they dreamt of each other.

* * *

I'm serious about the Chinese saying about Dragon and Phoenix. I'm Chinese, see ;P.  
  
I made up Sethia and Osiria, but if you are sharp, you should notice something already? And if you are really a pro, you should be able to guess the ending of the story .This is a very big clue.  



	12. The Rose of Miztgral

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Explanations for new terms/spells/magical items are at post-fic author's notes.

And to clarify, words in Italics meant they are thoughts between Harry and Draco.Thanks silver115 for the reviews. Sorry that I got your nick wrong the other time.

* * *

Harry woke up very early the next morning, for he wanted to clarify his doubt with Professor Lupin as soon as possible.

"_Draco! Wake up! We're going to Lupin now!" _Harry put that thought in his head, knowing that it would reach the Slytherin asleep on the other side of the castle. The Slytherin, too, had risen early and the two arranged to meet promptly outside the Professor's office.

"Professor? Are you in there? Can we come in?" Harry knocked on the door, using a big brass knocker.

The door then opened itself, and the Professor was sitting across the room, drinking tea from his cherished china.

"Professor," Harry stammered, not knowing how he should put across the accusation of Remus trying to conceal something from him.

"Professor, tell us truthfully, are you hiding something from Harry? Something to do with a certain rose?" Extroverted Draco spoke up for Harry; folding his arms across his chest he gave the Professor a cold stare.

"Why do you even think so? I'm not hiding anything that I think you should know," Lupin set his tea cup on the table and crossed his legs.

"Professor," Harry started, "I dreamt of the rose last night. Do not tell me it does not exist. My scar throbbed."

Upon hearing that Harry's scar hurt, blood drained from the Professor's face. That lightning bolt scar- Harry's trademark; was the way Voldemort branded the child. Harry was tagged by Voldemort, and the scar knew when he is near. Or if the Rose of Miztgral was near.

"Harry, I do not know if you are ready to hear about this, but are you aware that you are very near the second war?" The Professor stood up and walked towards on of his chests, apparently looking for something.

"I already know what the rose is! Can't you people just tell me everything? Keeping all these to yourselves and only telling me after the incident has occurred, what's wrong with all of you?" Harry shouted angrily, very worked up about how Remus had denied him the right to know all that he is about to go through. Draco took in a sharp breath on seeing an enraged Harry, shocked.

"It is not as simple as it seemed in the dream," Lupin turned around and hissed at Harry. "And if you really want to know, I want you to be the only person to hear about it." Lupin eyed Draco, clearly wanting him to leave the room.

"_Draco. Leave the room and wait for my news. Go to the Great Hall or people will suspect,_" thought Harry. The blonde gave him a quizzical look, but did not question further. Draco promptly exited the room and went for breakfast.

"Now you can tell me," Harry demanded.

"Before I tell you, do mind telling me whether Draco is on your side?" The Professor walked towards Harry, holding a book in his hand.

Harry took a long pause to think about that question. Then he opened his mouth, "Yes."

The Professor gave a nod of approval, and handed Harry the book. It was a simple book titled, "The Prophesy". It is not the exact prophecy that involved Harry defeating Voldemort, it is more of a book to forecast major changes in the magical world. "Page forty-eight," Remus motioned for Harry to read that page.

Harry fingered the yellowed pages of the book, and flipped to page forty-eight. Harry felt that the book must have been published long before he was born, and was no surprise if it had not forecasted the night he survived, and the night the Dark Lord fell.

The title on the page read, "The Rose of Miztgral". Harry looked up at the Professor, whom again, motioned him to read the rest of the article.

"The single rose is grown on the highest mountain in the world, where few men had set foot. It is perched high at the edge, where no men has seen. The rose, made of glass and grown from the ground is the plant in the whole of magical history that can revive the dead. However, no one wizard has been able to locate it. According to the ancient prophesies, only the one who defeats evil, the one who is pure in his heart can see the rose. And only the tears of the chosen one can turn the rose into the life-giving plant it is meant to be," Harry read aloud, a queer habit of his.

He then went on to the next page, "It was also recorded in the ancient books that the Rose seeks the chosen one, especially in times of dire needs. Beaconing for the One to come to it, the Rose would travel far, where it would be nearer the One. However, away its birthplace, the Rose would require more than tears of the One. It would require the blood. The petals of the rose are where it is potent- when placed under the tongue of the dead, gives eternal life."

Harry shuddered at the thought. It meant that one of them- Draco or he, would have to die during the battle.

"I'm sure you and Mr. Malfoy is what the book meant by the Chosen Ones. Tell me truthfully, and trust me to keep the secret, has Draco received the Slytherin accostrome?" The Professor grabbed Harry by the shoulder, looking straight into his eyes, a certain sincerity resided in the pair of brown eyes.

Harry nodded, and the Professor loosened his grip. He took a step backward, his face revealing shock and concern. Harry stood rooted to the ground, for he was overwhelmed by the knowledge of the oncoming war, and the impending death. Recalling his disturbing dream, he saw that the hands that were pricked to draw blood, had a certain paleness, that was not his own.

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, a pigeon flew in, flapping its wings hard trying to reach the Slytherin table. The other owls looked at the puny bird who carried a package near its own size with disgust, keeping a distance from it. The bird lowered itself in Draco's laps, and the other Slytherins just stared at the strange bird. Draco untied a package from the bird's feet, and fed the bird a tiny piece of bread before it left again.

"_Harry! I think the prescription from Mr. Sun is here,"_ Draco told Harry even he knew Harry is most probably in a serious meeting with Professor Lupin.

"_Really? What should we do about it?"_ Harry's reply was prompt, signifying that the meeting was over.

"_Meet me at the North Tower now. I'll bring you breakfast." _Draco then went and pocketed a few rolls, before running off to the North Tower with the package. He was early, hence he started to pace around, the package still wrapped out.

"Hey," Harry appeared, behind the boy. The two sat down at a table, and began to unwrap the package. A note was attached, this time in English. The note, written by the Sage was the instructions in concocting the medicine. The concoction was easy; they just had to double boil the herbs together with four bowls of water, till the volume was reduced to a mere one bowl. Harry examined the herbs, seemingly interested in the content. There was this dried worm-like item that Draco identified as cordyceps- one of the most expensive Chinese herb. The two had arranged to set up a cauldron in Draco's suite to boil the mixture. On the way back to the dungeon, Draco could not help but notice Harry's knotted brows and constant worried look.

"_Harry. What did that werewolf say to you?"_ Draco questioned.

"_Nothing. He just did a dream interpretation for me, that's all,"_ Harry lied. He really did not want Draco to know about his death in the battle.

"_Are you sure you are all right?"_ Draco queried again, this time stopping Harry in the middle of the hallway and staring into his eyes. The green of Harry's eyes exuded such charm, at the same time it revealed the heavy burden the boy was carrying- the burden of saving the whole of the Magical world.

"_Draco, tell me truthfully, if Voldemort wanted you to kill me, would you do it?"_ Harry asked, for it suddenly dawned upon him that Draco, and his family, were still under the influence of the Dark Lord. Besides, Draco had never denied not working for Voldemort.

"No! Are you out of your mind?" Draco shouted. He was hurt by such distrust from Harry. "If you think I'm a traitor to my friends, by all means." Draco stormed off, leaving Harry dumbstruck.

"Wait!" It took Harry two full seconds to realize that the boy had gone running off. Harry ran after Draco, and caught up with him easily. "Wait!" Reaching out to pull Draco's hand, Harry spun the blonde to face him. Tears welled in the Slytherin's grey eyes, and it hurt Harry, too.

"I didn't mean to ask you that, I think I'm going nuts," Harry lied again. He did not know how to get himself out of the mess, and seemingly sinking further into this misunderstanding.

The Slytherin did not answer him, just staring at his own toes, trying to contain his anger and emotions. Harry lifted Draco's chin to look at his eyes. "_I am sorry. It's all my fault. Forgive me, and forgive my trespassing."_ Harry sent the thought across and reached over and gave Draco a light kiss on the lips. Draco's eyes widened with shock, for this was the second time the Gryffindor had done this. He did not know how to react, for the kiss told more than lust, unlike Draco's past experiences with the Slytherins; it reflected true love. Harry drew away from Draco, though their lips were still at a dangerous proximity.

"Forgive me?" Harry whispered, his breath warm on Draco's lips. The Slytherin nodded and leaned in to give Harry a kiss. This time, it was Harry who felt something rush through him, something unlike lust, but more of true love.

* * *

A problem encountered: What colour is Remus Lupin's eyes? I took it as brown.  
And yes, it's a slash if you haven't noticed by now.  
Please review, thank you.  



	13. When Harry's World Falls

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Explanations for new terms/spells/magical items are at post-fic author's notes. Please review.

Thanks Miss Lesley for review. Will keep that mind for future work. Tried to salvage the situation in this chapter, wondering if it worked.

* * *

That night, Draco concocted the potion meant for Lucius and contained it in a vial. The next morning, he would send it home for his father. He found it hard to contain the excitement, and at the same time, worried about the potency of the potion. Draco could not fall asleep, hence decided to consult the accostrome.

"Will Lucius Malfoy survive?" Draco was not sure if he could address Lucius as Father, fearing that the accostrome would not know who he was referring about.

"_Do you want him to?_" The words flashed across the molten metal, and pierced straight into Draco's heart. The accostrome did not lie, as far as anything is concerned. Draco was truly torn between praying for his father's recovery and the chance to be detached from Voldemort. He knew that once his father recovered, the Dark Lord would request for Draco to receive the dark mark. If his father resumed work under Voldemort, the latter would most definitely come to know about Draco's new powers and the change in him, and the consequences would be dire.

"What will happen to Harry and me if he recovers?" Convinced by the all-knowing of the accostrome, Draco put complete trust in the prophetic abilities of the accostrome.

"_There is a time for everything; there is a place for everyone. No two can share the same niche." _Draco was dumbfounded. What did the accostrome mean?

"_Harry. Are you awake?"_ Draco asked, he needed an answer.

"_Yes. Why?_" The Gryffindor had not been able to sleep either. Not after the revelation of his impending death this morning.

"_The accostrome. It just told me, 'there is a time for everything; there is a place for everyone. No two can share the same niche.' Do you have any idea what it means?"_ Draco asked, his mind boggling with questions that needed to be answered.

A long pause came after that, for Harry had a hard time rationalizing himself. He was clueless if he should tell Draco about the Rose of Miztgral, and his dream.

"_Harry? Are you there?" _Draco's voice broke Harry's chain of thoughts.

"_Yes, yes," _Harry hemmed. "_Draco. Listen to me, I think... I think that one of us will die."_

A dead silence was observed next, Harry could hear the soft snores from Ron, and Draco, the crickets' noise. Both found it hard to accept this, the accostrome had just reassured Harry of his doubts, and Harry had just answered Draco's burning question. The two were overwhelmed with unspoken emotions.

"_You knew this long ago, right?"_ Draco questioned.

"_Yes."_ Harry gave what would have like a mutter in a real spoken dialogue.

"_Why didn't you tell me? Why did you have to lie to me?"_ Draco, evidently worked up, shouted, both using his mind as well as his mouth. Draco drove his fist hard into the wall, flaring up at the thought of Harry lying to him.

"_Draco, listen, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know, I didn't want you to get worried."_ Harry seemed to mutter again, for he was guilt-ridden. He hated it when people lied to him, yet he himself committed that very grave mistake. Harry's world seem to be collapsing; he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, his life is coming to an end and even by then, he might not have killed Voldemort, and now, he has lied to the person that mattered most to him. Harry broke down, weeping into his pillow to muffle his cries.

Upon hearing Harry's bleak excuse, Draco's grey eyes widened with anger, scowling at random furniture in his room. "_Get worried? And let me die without knowing what exactly happened?"_ Draco shouted. Flopping down on a green velvet couch, Draco tried hard to bring down his heart rate, for his heart pounded hard in his chest, threatening to force its way out. Draco could not understand why Harry had to keep a matter of such importance from him. Was it because Harry did not trust him? Or was it because Harry did not regard him as a soul mate that he can share secrets with? At such thoughts, Draco doubled over from a pain in his middle. A deep, throbbing pain radiated through his midriff, causing him to groan uncontrollably.

"_Draco. Because it is me. I am the one who is meant to die."_ Gathering his thoughts, Harry had trouble putting across this to Draco. He was clueless about how he should put the idea across, his tactlessness had already caused the rift between the two.

"_What?"_ Draco would have wanted to respond more vehemently to what Harry said, but his pain caused him to blackout.

"_Draco? Draco? Are you there? Are you all right?"_ Harry evidently sensed Draco's plight, and without a second of delay, Harry left the Gryffindor dormitory under his invisibility cloak and fled for the Slytherin dungeon. He burst into the dungeon and headed for Draco's room.

"Alohomora!" Harry unlocked Draco's door and darted straight in. Seeing the blonde fallen and stationery on the ground, Harry felt a rush of emotions through him. Blinking through his bleary eyes, Harry picked up the blonde, hugging him. At that split second, Harry wished that time could turn and he could have continued lying to Draco- betray it might be, but at least ignorance is bliss. Then, it would be even better if he could turn time back to the first day their lives were change- the day Draco caught him wandering in the castle to meet at Hagrid's. Harry's shaky hands held his wand, as he was about to attempt a waking charm on Draco. Tears streamed down his cheeks, just as how the Slytherin's blonde hair spilled over his face. "Draco... you cannot die... at least hold out while I bring you to the hospital wing," Harry pleaded, his voice croaky from the tears. "Please Draco... you cannot die... it's all my fault. Wake up so that you can hit me. Wake up so that you can continue torturing me. Torment me if you want, just wake up! I can't possibly go on without you... I need you badly, please..." This time, Harry's world had really crushed down on him. Whether he could defeat Voldemort did not matter anymore, for Draco IS his world. Throwing Draco's arm over his shoulder, Harry helped Draco up onto his feet and tried to bring them both to the door when he felt a hand grab his neck. Not a powerful grip, but one significant enough to stun Harry.

"I could strangle you for betraying my trust," Draco whispered with much effort, his eyelashes a thick matt that covered his partly opened eyes.

Harry brought the weak Draco to his bed and lay him down. Still in pain, Draco groaned and rolled over. He was breaking out in cold sweat, his lips parched and pale. The last time Draco was so sick was the time Hermione cast a morbus affero spell on him. It hurt Harry to see Draco in such state, his lips trembling once more, as tears rolled down.

"Silly you, why are you crying instead of trying to help?" Draco groaned, this time a little more audibly. That struck Harry, who at once did a medicorious charm, hoping fervently that it would work. Fortunately, Draco was suffering from an acute attack of gastritis, on top of his anger, which worsened the situation. His pallor gradually regained a pinkish glow, and Harry heaved a sigh of relief.

The two stared at each other for a moment, not moving. Their stare conveyed the same message- profess of their love for each other. The love shared between them needed no more affirmation- that night told everything. As Harry reach to help smoothen Draco's hair, Draco made a grab for his arm. Draco used Harry's muscular arm to help pull himself to a sitting position and continued to look him in the eyes.

"Were you serious when you said you needed me in your life?" Draco asked, the moving of his now luscious lips so enticing to Harry.

"_Yes, and I love you."_ Harry, embarrassed of saying that aloud, forced the thought into Draco's mind. Harry cupped Draco's cheeks in his hand and brought himself nearer to the boy. Grazing his lips over Draco's, the two locked in a kiss, one that the two will never forget. The passion danced between them, as they embraced, pressing their bodies together. They remained in each other's arms till morning came, both smitten with pure love.

* * *

This is plain romantic chapter. More action and adventure in next chapter.  
Thanks for support and please review.  



	14. A Wellthought Ploy Destroys

uthor's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Explanations for new terms/spells/magical items are at post-fic author's notes.

Thanks Miss Lesley for the review. The reason why they had not turned to Dumbledore or Lupin for help is because they knew they had to take things into their own hands. See, Dumbledore sort of knows everything that's going on, but did not offer help. And Lupin could do nothing to help them, but only to tell Harry about the Rose.  
This chapter is more on the plan to fight Voldemort. Hope you like it!

* * *

The next morning, Draco dispatched the vial of potion together with a note back home. Unable to calm himself down, Draco paced around, muttering to himself. He wondered how long it would take for the potion to reach home, and what would happen after that. He prayed that Lucius would buy the excuse that the potion was made by Snape, and would drink it.

Harry reassured Draco, and the two headed to the Great Hall together. Many eyes followed them as they walked together, knotted brows and questioning gazes trailed them. Eventually they separated their ways to join their respective houses; both throwing each other grins across the room. They had decided to leave the problem of Harry's impending death behind them for a while, for they wanted to seize the moment and enjoy themselves. The first lesson was Potions, a class that Harry still found it hard to like. As they walked to class, they exchange glances, causing Ron and Hermione to protest.

As Snape was explaining to the class the use of Abyssinian shirvelfig and dried cows' placenta in the concoction of a certain antidote, a flapping sound was heard outside the room. This was followed by a scratching of claws against the windows. The Professor took out his wands and motioned for the students to move away from the window. In an instant, he drew the curtains open, expecting to see a giant hawk-like creature, based on the strangely loud scratching and the flapping of wings. As light poured into the room, the students gasped, for in place of a giant hawk was a single raven black owl.

"Mr. Malfoy, your owl," Snape called out, his face reflect a certain disgust. He opened the windows, letting the owl in. It flew straight into Draco's lap and dropped a letter. It bored the Malfoys' stamp. Anxious about the outcome of his plan to save his father's life, Draco ran out of the room, leaving Snape fuming. He commanded the class to return to their seats as he scowled at how disrespectful Draco was.

Harry had wanted to follow Draco, but the anxious boy had told him "_I want to do this alone."_ Harry thus remained in class, though he could hardly pay attention to what Snape was saying. He had wanted to look into what Draco was thinking, but to no avail. All he could do is to wait for the boy to confide in him.

Meanwhile, Draco ran down the corridor, clutching the letter tightly. His stomach knotted for he was very nervous. He found a secluded a corner and sat down, holding the letter with his shaky hands. Taking a deep breath, Draco ripped open the envelope, and took out the single piece of parchment. Muttering a prayer to no particular divine power, Draco looked down at the page:

"My son, Draco. I had my doubts of the origin of your so-called potion, nevertheless your intentions are understood. My health has significantly improved, allowing me to pen this note to you. Let me remind you, the Dark Lord still expects a certain decorum from you. He has also requested for you to receive the dark mark, preferably as soon as possible. Do reply me on your choice of date. Your father, Lucius Malfoy."

Dropping the letter, Draco remained stunned. His teeth chattered uncontrollably, his eyes became wet. Thoughts and images flashed in his head, so overwhelming his head throbbed. Images of seeing his father well again, images of Voldemort branding him, images of Harry's disappointed, downcast look, and scenarios of betraying Harry... it suddenly dawned upon Draco how Harry died. Draco cried out loud, picking up the piece of parchment and attempted to throw it across the room. He slumped onto a nearby wall and cried. He could not believe what was going to happen. His world, his soul mate, would die at his hands. Draco stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife. The one that he always carried around, a hardy piece of weapon against any mortal beings when magic failed.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Draco said, and drew the blade towards his wrist. "My death would solve everything." With that, Draco closed his eyes and was prepared to slit his wrist when Harry appeared and knocked the blade away from him. Fear was exuded in both their eyes, as they both fell to the floor, feeling their limbs go limp.

"Why?" Harry cried, no longer able to control his emotions. The tumultuous ride he has gone through, it was all too overwhelming for him.

"I will be the one to kill you, Harry. You would die at my hands. He wants to me receive the dark mark. They would want me to kill you!" Draco shouted, his lips trembling. He cringed at the thought of his own hands smeared with Harry's blood. To him, it was worse than being drenched in unicorn's blood, for the curse was far greater- it would be a shattering of Draco's world thoroughly.

"I would rather you killed me, than to have to let you kill yourself. We will go through this together. I swear," Harry brought Draco's head unto his shoulders, as the both of them cried together.

"It's easier to leave, than to be left behind... Harry, if you were dead, I would rather I died too..." Draco mustered, between sobs. They remained that way for quite some time before they calmed down. They had decided to consult the accostrome on this matter, for that sounded the most appropriate thing to do.

"_Beauty is only skin deep,_

_Complacency destroys._

_It is not eternal sleep,_

_Given a well-thought ploy"_

The accostrome, once again, had given them an encrypted message. The two have had enough of guessing and uncertainty, Draco slammed the accostrome down hard on to the floor. Flustered, Draco said umpteen swear words, some Harry had never heard of. Harry, too, was worked up, but he knew the importance of staying calm in order to try to figure out what to do, just as he had done with the cryptex.

"Draco, when you think of beauty, is there anyone you think of?" Harry questioned, considering perhaps Draco could think of something.

"Do I look as though I care?" Malfoy scowled and spat. He sat down on a chair, grinding his teeth in utter frustration. Harry looked at him, not knowing what to do. There was an uncomfortable silence, and then Draco spoke again. "Beauty, beautiful person, that's got to be me. I can't find anyone more beautiful than me."

"I see," Harry answered, "what if someone else looked exactly like you, you would consider him beautiful too?" Draco gave a nonchalant shrug, not knowing where all these small talks are getting.

"Draco, you know, I was always told in muggle schools that complacency is the worst thing that can happen to anyone. Pride goes before a fall, they always said in church. Sometimes I think that is so true. Throughout history, the men of war fall because of pride..." Harry was obviously chattering away.

"Stop it Potter. Don't make it sound like a eulogy or some sort. Screw the accostrome and whatever." Draco scowled, not being able to think for a moment. It was evident that he's already at his wit's end, for it was only a matter of days before his father would come storming to the school to take him home.

Harry, interrupted by Draco, did not want to go on. He was just hoping that somehow, by talking out the clues, he could piece the puzzle together. Voldemort wasn't even there, but Harry already felt defeated. Would it help if they went to Dumbledore? Would he be able to help? What about Lupin? Harry was lost. Hope seemed to have diminished, for they were on their own.

Meanwhile, Draco had trouble reasoning with himself, why had he gotten himself into such trouble? And trust himself to stay in it? Draco had felt like giving it all up, to turn to the Dark Lord and surrender himself. This fight against, what he did not know, was beginning to tire him out. He looked at Harry, who seemed deep in thought. He felt remorseful, for he was the one to drag Harry into all these. If he had approached someone else in Gryffindor to do the dirty job, perhaps Harry would not be so traumatized, and Harry would not have to die, someone else will die in his place... "_Wait." _Draco seemed to have come upon a revelation.

"Yes?" Harry responded verbally, for he saw no need in telepathy when he was just across the room.

"I think I know what we should do," replied Draco, with a slight hint of a smirk on his face.

* * *

Dried cows' placenta: A potions ingredient that I made up. After effects of learning sexual reproduction in Biology class (yew!)  
  
I know this is a short chapter but I thought this was a good place for a cliffhanger.  
Doing two chapters a night (yes, it's night time here) is draining. I shall continue when I deem the time right and please review and tell me how you think I'm going to end the story?  
If you have been following the clues faithfully and putting much thought into them, you should know the jist of everything that's going to happen.  



	15. The Final War

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Explanations for new terms/spells/magical items are at post-fic author's notes.

I had not been able to resist the urge to write and finish the story! So here's the update!

AJ586 : Thanks for the review. Glad that you liked the story. Though this is already the end.

Nippledora Tweaks: If fan fiction weren't made up, I'm sure they grew out of Mandrakes.

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"Dear Father, please be informed that I would be home three weeks from now due to major examination coming up. Please send regards and apologies to the Dark Lord on my behalf. Do take care of your health. Your son, Draco." The Slytherin set down his quill and admired the work. Three weeks to administer their ploy against Voldemort. Meanwhile, Harry looked into Hogwart's history. He needed to find the name of that one prefect, to substantiate his claims.

Harry's eyes went down the list of prefects in Hogwarts, when Tom Riddle was in sixth year. He scrolled down the list, "... _Lowse, Fredrick; Loystor, Cadence; Malfoy, Madeleine..."_ Harry had found what he was looking for. Madeleine Malfoy, Draco's aunt.

"_Draco, your aunt, Madeleine Malfoy was a prefect.."_ Harry told Draco, as he continued reading, and came to a short stop. Her term had lasted only one year. This was no surprise to Harry, for Draco already told him that Madeleine had died when she was fifteen. Strange deaths in Hogwarts were documented, but not this. Harry was perplexed by such oddity.

"_Harry. What are you getting at?"_ The blonde, who was penning his letter halfway across the castle, promptly replied. His rash attitudes always prevented him from seeing the small details of things, something Harry was particularly good at.

"_Draco. Remember the rumour that the Slytherin accostrome was last in the possession of a certain female prefect? Do you think it can be her?"_ The Gryffindor left the library and went to Draco. They were not only telepath, for now they could find out where each other was just by focusing their thoughts. Draco had been at the oak tree near the quidditch pitch, but once he sensed that Harry was coming near, he went to meet him halfway.

"Draco. Quick, we have to talk to the accostrome now," said Harry when he met up with Draco. Without hesitation, Draco led them both back to his room. The Slytherin common room was empty, except for a napping Zabini in a corner, who actually never gave much care to whether Draco was in company of Harry.

Gingerly opening the accostrome, Draco muttered a meek apology to the accostrome, presumably to make up for the unruly treatment the other night. The accostrome did not respond, its magma calm and slowly swirling.

"Who are you?" Draco questioned the accostrome, both their eyes peered down hard at the moving liquid.

"_No one."_ The words formed instantaneously infront of them.

"Madeleine Malfoy. Are you in there?" Draco questioned again, now sporting a domineering tone, exuding a classic Malfoy air.

"_Watch your manners, Draco Guthrie Malfoy."_ The accostrome seemed angry, for the silver swirls turned fire red, the words appeared to look larger too. Draco had initially thought that Salazar Slytherin felt insulted from being mistaken as a meek prefect. The swirls then resumed to its silver grey colour, before displaying yet another shocking response- "_That is no way to speak to your grandaunt." _

The two gasped, almost dropping the accostrome. Draco could not believe his eyes; his aunt residing together with Salazar Slytherin in such complex magical item. His grandaunt, when she was still a student, had managed to put a part of herself into a magical item whose logic was never known to any wizards but its creators.

"Will you come and see us, please?" Harry tried asking, but no response was made. The accostrome had only responded to what Draco said. Draco shook his head, telling Harry not to press on. He really did not want to know what his grandaunt had to do with Tom Riddle. Harry shot the blonde a confused look, not knowing why he had chosen to react this way.

"_I don't want to know what happened. It's just too...scandalous." _Draco could not even find the right word to express what he meant. He had the gut feeling that his grandaunt was more than just house mates or fellow prefect to Tom Riddle; there was something that went on.

"_Scandalous?"_ With raised eyebrows, Harry couldn't help but chuckle at the Slytherin. It never came across to Harry that a grandaunt could be scandalous, at least not in the way Harry was picturing it to be. Shrugging off the thoughts, Harry thought it might actually be better if he left Draco to look into the matter himself. After all, they were probing into Madeleine's private life. Bidding farewell, Harry left the dungeon and went to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He could only do that one thing in that bathroom.

Hermione certainly felt something; she obviously sensed something strange was going on between Harry and Draco. Seeing Harry coming back to the common room with bleary, bloodshot eyes a few times a week, and hearing of his disappearance from his bed at night, Hermione tried to piece the puzzles together. It shuddered to think of Harry and Draco as lovers. Hermione, typically still bounded by strict Muggle traditions and values instilled by her parents, had difficultly with homosexuality.

Albus Dumbledore, sat at his desk as Fawkes let out an almost deafening cry. It was time already, for her rebirth. Smiling benevolently at the magnificent phoenix, Dumbledore sensed the beginning of something of a greater scale. As Fawkes burned to ashes, Dumbledore placed the Sorting Hat beside Fawkes, telling the chick, "Bless those who are loyal to us." The headmaster knew that Fawkes would certainly go to the rescue of those who were of utmost loyalty to Hogwarts, just as how she had brought the sword of Godric Gryffindor to Harry in year two.

A week had passed, and Draco still had no further news from his father. Had he really bought the story of having to studying for a major examination? Draco was stunned at how gullible Lucius had become, or perhaps, there is a plan on their part, too?

It was evident to the rest of Hogwarts that Harry had become friends with Draco, often seen together, they were fast becoming the small talks over lunch and gossips exchanged along hallways. Speculations of their sudden friendship ranged from something close to the reality to total bizarre- and those came from none other than the Weaseley brothers.

The plan had been going on well, all they had to do, was to wait for Voldemort to attack.

At the end of the third week, Draco was brought out of class by Dumbledore himself. He knew perfectly well that his father was here for him.

"_Harry. I'm going back now. I will keep you informed of any changes."_ Draco told Harry, as he walked to the Headmaster's office. Stand in front of him was Lucius Malfoy, fully recovered and well. Giving the headmaster a cold stare, Lucius placed his hand on Draco's shoulder and led him away. Draco turned back and stole a look at the Professor, who gave him a wink and motioned to Fawkes, who was now a full grown phoenix.

Draco followed Lucius home, both remaining silent throughout the journey. Something had changed about the man infront of him. Draco felt that there was just that something that was different from the last time he saw Lucius. There is this pallor, but at the same time, he seemed less uptight and serious. He had actually looked that tad benevolent. Upon reaching their villa, Draco was told to go to the dungeons, where the Dark Lord would be waiting.

"I see that you are here," a loud cackling voice addressed Draco, as he entered the dungeon. Voldemort had his back turned, and the blonde only see a dark figure.

"_Harry. I'm seeing him now."_ Draco did not know if the Dark Lord could detect the telepathy between him and Harry, but he had to risk it to keep Harry informed. While Draco was deep in thought, he failed to notice the dark figure loom over him. All of a sudden, a strong gripped Draco's neck, choking him.

"Communicating with our little friend, are we?" Voldemort hissed, for he could detect the telepathy. Draco's eyes widened with fear when he felt the Dark Lord's acid breath, a vague smell of decomposed material filled the air about him. Sensing Draco's struggles, the Dark Lord loosen the grip, and spun the blonde around to face him. For the first time, Draco stared into the eyes of the Dark Lord. "Bring your little friend here, Malfoy. I want to see him."

Draco was about to say no when he felt a strong cruciatus curse hit him. He flew from his spot and hit the wall some ten feet away. The pain radiated through his body, his bones ached and his muscles underwent uncontrolled spasm.

"I do not take no as an answer. Now get Harry Potter here or you shall bear my wrath!" Voldemort vociferated, the fire burning in his eyes glowed brighter, and seemed to burn right into Draco's heart when their stares coincided.

"_Harry. He wants you to come. We're at my villa."_ Draco sent the thought to Harry, who promptly left Hogwarts under his invisible cloak. Flying on his Firebolt, Harry travelled fast and high to the Malfoy villa. Once Harry entered the sky about the villa, he felt his broom being taken away, and himself falling from some height onto the nearby field. Harry groaned as he hit the grass, but fortunately, he was not injured. Lucius Malfoy stood before him. Conjuring a binding charm, Harry was bound with ropes and was pushed towards the dungeon.

"Get in there!" Lucius barked and shoved Harry into the dungeon, where the Dark Lord and Draco were. Harry stumbled and fell into the room, falling flat on his face. There was no way he could fight Voldemort in this state.

"Well, well, Harry Potter. We meet again." Voldemort walked towards Harry. Lifting up his foot clad in dragon hide boots, the Dark Lord brought his foot to Harry's face, further pinning the boy to the ground. The aggressor gave a malicious laugh, and stared at Draco. "Let's see if your little lover can save you this time round." With that, both Harry and Draco were subjected to the cruciatus curse. Piercing pain ran through their bodies, filling every nerve ending and every muscle. Their groans could be heard, and Lucius felt something. He actually felt sorry for Draco.

Voldemort pulled Draco up by his collar, and shoved him to the wall. Once again, Voldemort peered into Draco's eyes. "Finish him off," the Dark Lord mouthed.

"No!" Draco cried. This time, he did not receive the crucio treatment. Instead, double shot was sent to Harry. Draco cringed at hearing Harry's helpless cries. It hurt Draco to see Harry suffer like this, and Draco knew exactly Voldemort was playing at. Holding back his tears, Draco had no choice but to point his wand at the helpless Gryffindor, whose muscular spasms had not stopped.

"I'm sorry Harry," Draco said loudly, "I will always love you." Draco hesitated, to see if Harry could at least reply something.

"Why, Draco?" Harry groaned, his voice bleak and weak.

"I don't want to see you hurt like that... as I said, it's easier to leave, than to be left behind. Goodbye Potter," with that, Draco shouted a loud avada kedavra. Harry left an ear-piercing cry before his limbs fell to his side. A single tear rolled down Draco's cheek. The Dark Lord laughed as he saw the boy fall. His nemesis was now dead. At the hands of the very person he trusted and love.

"You made me kill the person I loved and trusted, you evil git!" Draco turned around and screamed at Voldemort. His lips trembling, Draco's tears flowed freely. Voldemort took no notice of what Draco said, as he continued to laugh.

"Just like you! You too killed the person you trusted and loved most!" Draco moved up till he was only inches from the Dark Lord, staring straight at his face. The Dark Lord stopped laughing upon hearing that, his face knotted with disgust. "When you killed Madeleine she left you a curse. A curse that will cause your downfall." Draco enunciated clearly for everyone to hear.

The Dark Lord again let out a malicious laughter. "She cursed that I will be destroyed by that one pure soul. But that soul is gone. He is dead. I will prevail. She has failed." The Dark Lord hissed through his teeth, making sure Draco caught every word he said.

"Madeleine loved you, Tom Riddle," Draco spoke in a staccato manner, clearly building up certain suspense. "Her love was undying." Draco paused, as though to clear his thoughts. "My love for Draco is also undying." With that the wand was pointed at Voldemort, who was stricken with fear. He had not heard wrongly- "the love for Draco".

"Avada kedavra!" In a split second, the curse came out of the wand that bore one of the two feathers from Fawkes. Just as expected, the charm was repelled by Voldemort's wand. Both fell back with and hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Expelliarmus!" Lucius took both their wands away. He did not know what he was doing, but he wanted to save his son. "Harry, take Draco away! I will deal with the situation here!" Just as this was heard, ball of fire swooped into the dungeon. It was Fawkes. Dropping the sorting hat next to the blonde, she circled the air before attacking Voldemort with her claws. The blonde picked up the hat and drew out the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

"Voldemort! Face your death!" The sword was then plunged straight into the Dark Lord's heart, a deafening cry heard. A light was emitted from the stab wound in Voldmort, a light so blinding everyone turned away. When the light dimmed, all was left was a pile of burning ember, with a solitary sword sticking out of it. Seeing that the evil was finally gone, the blonde accio-ed his Firebolt and flew out, following Fawkes.

Trusty Fawkes was leading Harry to where the Rose of Miztgral was, flying at a great speed. Harry tailed Fawkes, as the wind blew the tears away from his cheeks. Harry was led to an icecap of a mountain, where he caught sight of the gleam of the glass in the sun. Dismounting his broom haphazardly, Harry threw himself forward, just as he had done so in his dream.

The single rose, stood proudly in the snow. Harry fingered the rose, admiring the last of its beauty before breaking it off the stem. His tears flowed naturally, dripping down onto the rose. The rose stirred momentarily, but remained dormant. Harry knew what he had to do. He plunged the rose into his wrist, allowing the blood to flow into the rose. Where his blood touched, the rose became alive. To stop his own bleeding, Harry tore a strip of cloth of his shirt, or perhaps Draco's shirt and wrapped it around his wrist.

Harry ran into Draco's room, and saw himself lying on the bed. Lucius looked down at the lifeless body, and for a moment, Harry thought he saw tears in Lucius' eyes. Narcissa sat next to Lucius, her eyes bloodshot from over crying. Harry bent down towards the body, and used his good hand to crush the petals of the life-giving rose and laid the petals on Draco's lips. He pushed the petals lightly, trying to force them into Draco's mouth. The body seemed to have gone into rigour mortis, Harry had to use force to pry over the mouth. As the body rigidly received the petals, Harry stared down at his how face, how pale it has become.

Between waiting for the Draco to be revived, several thoughts flashed through Harry's mind; if Draco did not live, Harry would gladly live under the pretense of Draco's body, at least, that way, Lucius and Narcissa could look at their son. As Harry gripped the cold hands of the body, he brought it to his face and kissed it. Tears were spilt. Just as Harry thought all was gone, a slight pulsating in the palm of the body jerked Harry to his senses. The cold hand was gradually becoming warm again, and Harry could distinctly feel the heart beat of the body infront of him.

"Draco! Wake up! Can you hear me?" Harry shouted and brought Lucius out of his trance too. The two parents clamoured toward the body, unaware of how they should react. Their gut told them, the soul in the body there belonged to Draco, but the body was essentially Harry's.

Draco's eyelids fluttered open, and he resumed breathing. He felt every part of his body aching, his throat so dry he could not speak a word. Harry propped him up against the bed frame, and fed him some liquid. The parched lips hurt as liquid touched them, and Draco grimaced. Harry promptly took the spoon away from the mouth, and threw it on the wall. The lips remained parched, and without hesitation, Harry pressed his own moist lips to those belonging to the boy with the green-eyes. For the first and perhaps only time in his life, Harry kissed himself. The blonde then pulled the boy into his arms, embracing him.

"_I need some water_," Draco told Harry. The blonde grinned and took a mouthful of water from the cup, before he locked lips with Draco and emptied the water into Draco's mouth. For a moment their tongues touched, but they had decided to not take things too far, not when these were all in plain view of Draco's parents.

Albeit Lucius having repented, he found it hard to accept that his son was kissing the boy they had been at war with for the past six years. Narcissa gave an understanding nod, and motioned Lucius to give the two some privacy.

The two remained hugging for a moment, before Draco noticed Harry's wounded hand.

"_Are you all right?"_ Draco asked, concerned.

Draco shrugged and touched his wound gingerly. "_Now I know how my mother felt on the night they were attacked. She would give everything to save me. This was the least I could do, for the person I love."_

Tears welled in Draco's eyes, and made the green eyes look forlorn. That night, the two waited for the polyjuice effects to wear off, as they pledged to spend the rest of their lifetime together.

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If you are still clueless, Draco and Harry polyjuiced into each other (hence the 3-week wait) and Harry returned to Draco's house as Draco, and had pretended to kill the latter, who was acting as Harry. That's the jist of it, and I will wrap up things in the epilogue. (Yes, there IS an epilogue.)  



	16. Epilogue

Author's notes: I do not own Harry Potter nor associates. Explanations for new terms/spells/magical items are at post-fic author's notes.

Thanks separated-self, deathangelofdarkness, LadySloneofSnowMt for reviews! Do hope you would support my future fics!

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As Harry and Draco, now back to their original self, strolled along the lake at Draco's villa, Harry could not help but question Draco about how he derived the plan.

"My dear, dear Harry. You must think I'm daft or something," Draco rolled his eyes. Now that Voldemort has been defeated, and his father nursed back to health, Draco was gradually becoming the all demanding, domineering boy again. "Have you not read the histories in detail?"

"What do you mean?" Harry led them to sit at a bench overlooking the calm waters, only occasional ripples caused by one of the carps swimming near the surface of the water.

"Sethia killed Osiria. And, see, you were wearing Sethia's ring. Sethia killed Osiria but he did not really die, he took a spin to life after death and came back," Draco explained, "And I was wearing Osiria's ring. And remember when the accostrome said that beauty is only skin deep? It meant that all we had to do was to fool Voldemort into believing that you're dead, and then kill him."

"I see... I would never have thought of it that way," Harry smiled. It had been long since he last smiled truthfully. Now that his burden has been lifted, Harry had become a far happier boy. Draco raised his eyebrows at Harry, whose smile so wide Draco thought he was grinning.

"What are you grinning at?" Draco questioned playfully, leaning against the happy boy.

"Nothing. I'm just happy," Harry confessed. Putting his arms around Draco, the two sighed and wished that life could remain this way. Unfortunately, they would have to return to Hogwarts tomorrow, as well as be present at the press conference later in the evening. The news of Voldemort's fall had shocked the whole magical community; never had anyone expected that the son of the Dark Lord's own Deatheater.

"Give me a moment," Harry walked from the bench, leaving Draco bewildered. The Gryffindor soon returned, his hand clutching a few dandelions. Harry handed them to the Draco, who laughed.

"Big great Harry Potter is a sneaky thief, stealing flowers from MY house to give them to ME," Draco laughed, Harry sheepishly staring at him.

"No flowers are good enough for you, this is the best I cab do 'cos I thought it would have brushed off some of your beauty, them being flowers at your house," Harry replied, giving a sheepish grin.

"Sweet talker," Draco joked, evidently elated by the gift. The two cuddled together, and Draco took a photo of them together. He wanted the moment to last forever. Looking at the photo, Harry was reminded by his parents'; that one photo Hagrid had given to him at the end of year one, the one of Lily and James cuddling at the fountain. The two cuddled for a while more before deciding to go back into the house.

Narcissa and Lucius seemed to have accepted Harry, him being Draco's saviour and only love. They have never seen their son happier; each vacation when he returned he would be in a fouler mood, telling off his parents and torturing the house elves. Lucius planned to make an official announcement to the press of his detachment from the Dark Arts, his plan to go into legitimate business for once.

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Following the drilling press release, the two went back to Hogwarts. Congratulatory banners were everywhere; juniors from the lower years practically held the two in awe and even formed a fan club. A feast was held in honour of them, and lessons were called off for a day for celebrations. Harry and Draco, for once, could sit together in the Great Hall and not separated due to their different houses.

That night, to escape the tireless pursuit of the fans, the two hid behind the locked doors of Draco's room. The fan club representatives from Slytherin was relentless; they must have had been knocking on the door for nearly an hour. The two did not whether to laugh or cry at the attention they were receiving. The Slytherin accostrome, having finished its work, had gone into hiding again. The two collapsed on the bed, tired from running, both laughing. As they rolled onto their sides and faced each other, time stopped. Harry looked at the beautiful boy in front him. He had such endearing grey eyes, and those lips that never failed to captivate Harry. Harry lifted his hand and traced a line from Draco's eyes to his mouth, while sending a message to Draco, "_I'm so going to kiss you now."_

"_I know. Do it now and stop teasing!" _Draco batted his eyelids and rolled his eyes, clearly urging for a smooch. Without hesitation, Harry reached across and gave Harry a long kiss on the lips. The wonderful feel of their breathes warm on each other's breath, the nibbling of each other's luscious lips... both felt as though they were in Heaven. Draco nudged Harry's lips open and let his tongue slip in. The moment their tongues touched, both boys moaned in pleasure.

That night, the boys did more than reaffirming their love; they pledged to spend the rest of their lives together.

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Draco had been looking at the photograph album. He fingered that first photograph Harry took with him, the one at his villa after the defeat of Voldemort. "_Must have been at least a few centuries ago,"_ Draco thought. The next photograph was at Hogwarts with the fan club, then came their informal wedding in, well, Draco's suite in Hogwarts then. Draco can vividly remember them adopting their first daughter, Morag, together, though it had been so long ago. After Morag there were sons and daughters, at last count, they had five sons and eight daughters.

Draco finally selected a photo of Harry, one taken when he won the Quidditch world cup for Britain. The ecstatic grin on Harry just made Draco want to hug him tightly again. Draco pulled the photograph out of the album and labelled it using a spell, "_To be used on the tombstone," _the label read.

As Draco closed the photo album, he went into the study and opened Harry's cupboard, and fished out the Gryffindor's diary. For the past three hundred years, Harry has been kept alive by the aevus extrahotus, an elixir of life. Just last week, Harry had decided that it was his time, and had stopped taking the potion. For the past so many years, Harry and Draco had seen many people come and go in their lives, many of their children had passed on, and Hogwarts had lived through seven headmasters. Draco looked slightly older than ninety, however he was not a day older from the day he received the Rose of Miztgral. He had administered the aging charm on himself such that he would be compatible to Harry. Pulling his coat close, Draco closed the door behind him and left for the lake. The bench next to the lake was their favourite haunt, where they used to rest from walks.

Draco sat down on the bench, and started to read Harry's recent journal entries. Over the three hundred years, Harry must have exhausted many journals. As the blonde opened the book, a photograph fell out. Picking it up, Draco realised that it was one of the four of them- Ron, Hermione, Draco and Harry on the last day in Hogwarts. Following their graduation, Hermione became an executive director at Gringotts, one of the very few witches who have made it to the management of that bank. Ron married Hermione and worked at the Ministry. Harry went on to play for the British quidditch team for a few years before he retired and started a day-care for young wizards and witches. Draco took over Lucius' business, and turned it into a bustling one.

Draco peered down at the diary entries, taking out his reading glasses, Draco peered down at the pages. Harry, after spending so many years with Draco, had picked up some bad habits. Draco smiled as he recognised re-enacting of his jokes and puns; some swear words that Draco had somehow imparted to Harry, Harry's own go at bad jokes. Albeit such changes in Harry, what never changed were Harry's sentimental side and his sensibility. As Draco walked down memory lane, he saw things from Harry's point of view; Harry's feelings when they quarrelled, Harry's guilt from making Draco angry, Harry's secret prayers for Draco whenever the Slytherin went away on business. He had also seen Harry's hidden emotions; how after a few months of Ron's death, Harry was still missing him, and the pain of attending the funerals of their friends. Draco felt as though he was getting to know Harry all over again.

"Father! Here you are." A crisp, young voice knocked Draco out of his reminiscence. Turning around, he identified the owner of the voice as Yen, their youngest daughter. Yen was an intelligent and charming girl, and reminded them very much of Hermione.

"Lunch is ready, let's go back." Yen accompanied the blonde back to the villa, and they had lunch, along with two other sons. The four of them ate in silence, presumably mourning Harry's passing.

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Harry's funeral drew the attention of the wizarding community, for he was a legend of the magical world. Draco hardly knew anyone who turned up, except for some of those from the Ministry and some Hogwarts student Harry had taken under his wings for Quidditch game plans. Draco had prepared Harry's eulogy, and as he lumbered to the stand, the crowd quietened and waited for the speech.

"I always told Potter that it is easier to leave, than to be left behind," Draco started, his face solemn. "Potter was the saviour, the winner, the survivor. Though he did not beat time and age, he has become a legend." At that point, many were seen dabbing their eyes.

"Potter, my one and only true love. The one who changed me, the one who saved me, twice and the one who loved me. He was the one who was there for me when our children passed on, the one who was there for me at my lowest times, he was the one who taught me to stop focusing on our differences and look at our similarities." A few Slytherins were then seen to hug the Gryffindors. "Potter, the father to our children, the father to the orphaned. His love for children extended beyond nationality, birth and race. Potter, the fondly remembered. We would hold him in memory, forever." By now, many faces were wet with tears, and rounds of comforting hugs were being passed around. Draco stepped from the stand to place the first flower in Harry's casket. As Draco reached down to kiss Harry on the lips, he had really hoped for the appearance of a second rose of Miztgral.

A spell was placed on the casket such that it would contain all the roses the people brought, and that Harry's body would be preserved the state it is in. Draco's tears fell, as he remembered Harry's journal entry, an entry dated when Lucius passed on. "_I wished I could bring Draco somewhere away from these troubles, all these sadness. I want to bring him to a place where time stops, where everything is perfect, somewhere he'll be happy. Draco, you know something? The world was never meant for someone as beautiful as you." _

End

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aevus extrahotus: an elixir that delays aging and death. Effects are only evident with constant consumption. Would die 24hrs after stopping the dosage.

Yes, it's the end of the fic already. Really enjoyed writing it for all you people out there, especially those who have reviewed.

Do continue to support my future fics! Thanks loads!


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